As Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s prepares to speak at the United Nations, it is tempting to dismiss his anti-American rants as just another propaganda stunt. But what makes his remarks difficult to ignore is that large segments of the Iranian population will buy into them. And that Ahmadinejad, along with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini and Iran’s clerical leadership, appear to believe what they are saying – fueling a narrative that drives Iran’s reckless international behavior.
The notion that the U.S. government deliberately conspired to attack its own people on 9/11 as a pretext for global warfare—a notion Ahmadinejad famously peddles—strikes most reasonable observers as preposterous. Yet such an account fits seamlessly into the overarching worldview of Iran’s leaders. This worldview, articulated in letters, speeches, and statements at home and abroad, is marked by several attributes:
