Ahmadinejad, however, says sanctions won’t force Iran to capitulate to Western demands.

The United States and allies want Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which they worry could lead to weapons-grade material. Iran says it only seeks reactors for energy and research.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in Kerman, southeastern Iran on Thursday.

Iran had previously indicated that it is ready for a new round of talks with the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany. A senior U.N. nuclear agency team is expected to visit Tehran on Saturday.

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If I learned one thing from the recent rebellions in Iran, it is this: the Iranian people have a lot of heart. These are folks you would want with you when times get tough. Strong folks, to be sure, particularly the women. They have endured beatings from the Ayatollah’s paramilitary motorcycle gang, the Basij. And some took bullets for the cause for which they were fighting. The graphic videotaped killing of a young woman, 26-year old Neda Soltan, by sniper fire became a painful symbol of the struggle for democracy in that country.

The masses fighting against the military in the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities knew what to do when their rights were at stake. It was an appropriate reaction by an outraged public to a stolen election, in which incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was fraudulently reselected by the religious rulers to another term of office. Despite the groundswell of support for reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, the regime informed the people that Ahmadinejad won in a landslide. But it is really about more than that now, as this is a part of a resistance movement which was years in the making. And in that regard the people’s democratic tendencies and thirst for human rights provide a spectacular model for all of us to follow.

Iran’s citizens exist in a regressive theocracy that has carved out a paltry window for democracy in the form of these sham elections. They decided they were tired of living in a repressive society, a nation-as-prison branded as an international pariah and a sponsor of terrorism. They decided they grew weary of living in a place in which people are disrespected and disregarded, where women are second or third class citizens who are beaten in the streets with sticks like dogs, and brownshirt thugs mete out street justice on behalf of the religious elite.

But in the U.S., a putative democracy, when elections are stolen, the people retreat into a world of escapism and multimedia diversions, of celebrity gossip and reality television, of mindless consumerism (at least before the recession hit), and become sidetracked by issues of little or no concern. In November 2008, however, they appeared to take back their democracy, although the jury is still out.

The Iranian theocratic establishment responded to their people’s cries with brutality through the barrel of the gun. Unprepared for the first ever revolution conducted through Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, through text messaging, cell phones and camera phones, the regime of Ayatollah Khameini cracked down on political dissidents. It imprisoned reform leaders and journalists, jammed the phone lines, and waged a media blackout on coverage of the protests. And demonstrators were threatened with the death penalty. But what we all soon learned was that the world is one big network. You cannot hide the truth in a technological world with a 24-hour news cycle. Independent citizen-journalists still got the word out to the greater global community.

Iran’s religious rulers have a problem: their moral bankruptcy, corruption and illegitimacy have been revealed for all the world to see. They are trapped in the 1979 revolution which unseated the Shah – Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, a puppet monarch installed by the Americans and the British – from power. And oddly, the current regime remains fixated with a revolutionary mindset in which the U.S. is the great Satan, and the U.S., Britain and the European nations are to blame for the current unrest.

Now granted, the U.S. and Britain have to shoulder much blame for what has happened in Iran over the years. In 1953, the CIA and British SIS staged a coup d’état, in which Mohammed Mossadeq, the democratically-elected prime minister of that country, was overthrown (Mossadeq was a nationalist who was committed to nationalizing the country’s British owned petroleum industry). Installed by his Western puppet masters, the Shah – with his personal opulence, autocratic rule, suppression of political dissent, and regime of violence – paved the way for the Islamic revolution that overthrew him and cast him into exile. The protests against the Shah in the streets in 1979 mirror the protests against the rule of the mullahs today in 2009. And as Malcolm X would say, chickens came home to roost.

But it would seem that blaming the U.S. and others can only go but so far. And those in the streets who want relations with America apparently are not buying that worn out message. The Iranian revolutionary government suffers from the same disease that infects many other revolutionary regimes, and it harkens back to a theme in George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm – revolutions can produce governments that are just as oppressive as, if not more malicious and loathsome than, the regimes they replaced. Throw off one yoke of oppression, and replace it with another, only under a different name or shape or color. Oddly, the Iranian constitution provides for a number of freedoms, including the protection of human dignity, equality before the law for men and women, freedom of belief, freedom of the press, of association and assembly, a ban against torture, and no arrests without due process. But you would not know this these days, as rhetoric and reality have parted ways, and staying in power is more important than following the will of the people, and even their own laws.

President Obama, whose Cairo speech surely provided a catalyst for the Iranian protests that followed, issued the following statement:

“The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.

As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.

Martin Luther King once said – “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.”

Applying Dr. King’s message of human rights to the streets of Tehran, Obama’s message is a cautionary one, yet a hopeful one. No one knows what will happen next, and this is for Iranians to decide. But surely, repressive regimes everywhere are observing the Twitter revolution taking place in Iran, where brutality and injustice can no longer take place in dark, secret, hidden dungeons like the old days. Those were the days when the law was the law because the angry and sadistic old crackpot at the top said it was so, and everyone else be damned.

But now, the people beg to differ.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member David A. Love, JD is a journalist and human rights advocate based in Philadelphia, and a contributor to the Progressive Media Project and McClatchy-Tribune News Service, among others. He contributed to the book, States of Confinement: Policing, Detention, and Prisons (St. Martin’s Press, 2000). Love is a former Amnesty International UK spokesperson. His blog is davidalove.com.

As a personal form of protest I did not attend the Iranian President’s address to the Durban Review Conference, the follow-up to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism and Related Intolerance.  Rather than sit through remarks from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, one of the world’s biggest human rights violators, and witness the circus of planned disruptions and walk outs, I decided to attend one of the daily “VOICES” forums where the victims of racism share their personal stories.  After all this is a conference on racism and intolerance.

I am glad I made that decision.  In fact, I wish that the conference organizers had broken with UN protocol and opened with the voices of victims in order to remind government representatives of their obligation to fight the scourge of racism.  Perhaps if those voices had been front and center, maybe our own government would have felt more obligated to participate, instead of choosing to boycott the event.

VOICES is a compelling week-long series of conversations with the victims of racism and discrimination.  Organizer Gay McDougall, UN Special Representative on Minority Issues, opened the series, noting that “listening is a form of empowerment,” although it must be followed up by “action” and “implementation.”

The speakers in the series come from all over the world.  If the UN organizers had put victims on the agenda first, instead of government leaders, they would have heard from:

• Tanzanian parliamentarian, Al Shaymaa Kwegyir. Kwegyir poignantly addressed the stigma faced by albinos in some parts of Africa. This genetic disorder, characterized by the absence of pigmentation, has resulted in abuse, discrimination, and poverty for many albinos. Tragically, some in Tanzania believe that albino bodies hold special powers, which has led to the death and dismemberment of albino children in order to fuel an illegal trade in body parts. Albinos are “suffering because of our skin color – this color – white color, ” Kwegyir said. The Tanzanian government has made the protection of albinos a priority, vowing to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice and has begun a national educational awareness campaign.
• Geiler Romana, founder of AFRODES. Little known to most African Americans, Colombia has the third largest Black population in the Americas. Most Blacks in Colombia make less than $500 a year and live in extreme poverty. Caught between government linked paramilitary groups and rebel guerillas, Afro-Colombians have been displaced from their traditional homes and forced to relocate to urban areas where they are subject to police brutality, unemployment, and lack of opportunity. Romana, himself forcibly displaced from his home by armed groups, founded AFRODES (Asociacion de Afrocolombianos Desplazados), an association working for the rights of Afro-descendants.
• Sarah White, labor leader from Mississippi. White, an African American worker in the $40 million dollar a year catfish industry addressed the domestic face of racism. She described working in slave-like conditions, twelve hour days, intimidation, sexual harassment, in which Black women are assigned the dirtiest jobs, and are monitored even during bathroom breaks in restrooms where the doors have been removed from toilet stalls. White led the largest labor strike in Mississippi, wining concessions for the workers, concessions currently under threat by the global economic recession.

For White and others, the Durban Review Conference is a reminder that racism is a global phenomena, and that we have to challenge and hold our governments accountable.

The Middle East’s largest automaker has unveiled a four-door sedan, claiming its engine is the world’s most powerful run by natural gas. It’s a significant development in a country that has converted more than 250,000 cars to run on the stuff.

The company, Iran Khodro, says the turbocharged engine in the Samand Soren ELX produces 150 horsepower, 37 more than the CNG-powered Honda Civic GX and just four short of the gasoline-burning four-cylinder Toyota Camry.

Iran Khodro unveiled the car Saturday in Tehran, and the Tehran Times says it was developed “under the intellectual property of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” which explains why there was a picture of the Ayatollah looking over the car.

Company CEO Manouchehr Manteqi says the car meets Euro IV emissions standards and adds, “its nominal power will not decline even at the height of 2,000 meters above sea level.” That’s 6,561 feet for the metrically challenged, and it’s significant because Tehran, like Denver, is located about 5,000 feet above sea level.

Manteqi didn’t offer any other details on the car, but the Samand LX uses a 1.7-liter four-cylinder that produces 100 horsepower. It does 0 to 62 mph in 11.9 seconds and tops out at 115 mph.

Iran Khodro is partially owned by the government, and it has a joint venture with Peugeot to build the Logan econobox (sold in Iran as the Tondar 90) and the 206 compact and 405 sedan. Although the global auto industry is slumping, Iran Khodro plans to ramp up production and ease its dependence on foreign suppliers, according to Reuters.

Tehran, a city of 12 million people, has long been plagued by pollution. That’s changed in recent years as the city has adopted natural gas buses, forced taxis to convert to CNG and taken decrepit old cars off the road. More than 250,000 cars have been converted to natural gas since 2004, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Iran’s president called Wednesday for “profound changes” in U.S. foreign policy including an end to support for Israel and an apology to the Islamic republic for past misdeeds.

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also urged Washington to withdraw its troops stationed around the world. He said Iran would be closely watching what President Barack Obama’s new administration does and would welcome a real shift in its approach.

“Change means giving up support for the rootless, uncivilized, fabricated, murdering … Zionists and letting the Palestinian nation decide its own destiny,” Ahmadinejad said. “Change means putting an end to U.S. military presence in (different parts of) the world.”

His comments come as Obama was reaching out to Muslims. He has stressed the importance of engaging Iran, a country the Bush administration often singled out as the most dangerous in the Middle East. In his inaugural address, Obama addressed leaders of hostile nations by saying “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

Without mentioning Obama by name, Ahmadinejad repeatedly referred to those who want “change,” a buzzword of Obama’s election campaign.

“When they say ‘we want to bring changes’, change may happen in two ways: First is profound, fundamental and effective change … the second … is a change of tactics,” he told thousands of people in the western city of Kermanshah in a speech broadcast live on state television.

“We will wait patiently, listen to their words carefully, scrutinize their actions under a magnifier and if change happens truly and fundamentally, we will welcome that,” he added. “The change will be to apologize to the Iranian nation and try to compensate for their dark records and the crimes they have committed against the Iranian nation.”

Ahmadinejad cited the U.S.-backed coup that toppled the elected government of Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh in 1953, its support of the unpopular shah, its backing of Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s war with Iran in the 1980s and the downing of an Iranian airliner in 1988 by a U.S. naval ship.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel that aired Tuesday, Obama condemned Iran’s threats to destroy Israel and its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons, but added: “It is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress.”

Later Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters the U.S. administration is undertaking a wide-ranging and comprehensive assessment of American foreign policy options toward Iran.

Clinton also said Iran had a “clear opportunity” to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community.

Washington is at odds with Iran over its nuclear ambitions and its threats to destroy Israel as well as Tehran’s support of the militant groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.

The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran after hardline students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

Merry Christmas, “bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers.”

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will deliver a Christmas Day broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 television, occupying a slot used to provide an often controversial counterpoint to Queen Elizabeth II’s traditional annual message, the station said Wednesday.

In his recorded message, Ahmadinejad offers seasonal greetings to Christians and says he believes that if Jesus were alive, he would “stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers,” an apparent reference to the United States and its allies.

According to a transcript of the broadcast released in advance, Ahmadinejad says most of the world’s problems stem from leaders who have turned against religion. He doesn’t refer to rival nations or leaders by name or raise the issue of Israel, despite his previous calls for the removal of the Jewish state.

“If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over,” Ahmadinejad said, according to the text.

The U.S., Britain and others suspect Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its uranium enrichment program is intended solely for a civilian energy program.

Ties with the U.K. were further strained in 2007 over the detention by Iran of 15 British sailors and marines, who were held for 13 days.

Ahmadinejad’s message follows similar Christmas broadcasts on Channel 4 by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sharon Osborne and the animated TV character Marge Simpson of “The Simpsons.” Last year’s message was delivered by Sgt. Maj. Andrew Stockton, a British soldier badly wounded in Afghanistan.

Ahmadinejad spoke in Persian, with subtitles in English, the channel said.

Dorothy Byrne, head of news and current affairs at Channel 4, said Ahmadinejad had been selected because relations between Iran and the West are likely to be a key global issue in 2009.

“As the leader of one of the most powerful states in the Middle East, President Ahmadinejad’s views are enormously influential. As we approach a critical time in international relations, we are offering our viewers an insight into an alternative world view,” Byrne said.

The channel’s news program broadcast an interview with Ahmadinejad in September 2007, when the Iranian leader insisted his nation wasn’t seeking to develop a nuclear weapon.

President-elect Obama accepted congratulations from nine presidents and prime ministers Thursday, returning calls from world leaders who reached out after his presidential victory.

The global financial crisis was among the topics Obama discussed with key U.S. allies he’ll deal with during his administration.

Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said the president-elect spoke to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Sarkozy’s
office says they spoke for 30 minutes and characterized the discussion
as “extremely warm” as the president congratulated Obama on a
“brilliant” election victory. The statement said they discussed
international issues, particularly the financial crisis, and agreed to
meet in the “quite near future.”

Harper’s
office said in a statement that they spoke about an international
financial summit in Washington on Nov. 15 and its importance for
addressing the global financial crisis. Obama had no plans to attend
the meeting.

The prime minister’s office
says the two leaders emphasized that there could be no closer friends
and allies than the United States and Canada and vowed to maintain and
further build upon the relationship. Harper’s office called it a warm
exchange and said they agreed to talk again soon.

Calderon’s office said Obama pledged continued U.S. support for Mexico’s fight against organized crime
and drug trafficking. A statement from the Mexican president’s office
says Obama told Calderon he was “conscious of the difficulty of the
battle” and offered “decisive” U.S. support.

Congress approved $400 million in anti-drug aid for Mexico last June, but has yet to release the money.

Olmert’s
office said the two “discussed the need to continue and advance the
peace process, while maintaining the security of the State of Israel.” Israel and the Palestinians relaunched talks nearly a year ago at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference, and they set a year-end target for a final accord. But no breakthroughs have been reported, and in Israel on Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice all but conceded that goal was unachievable.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
on Thursday congratulated Obama on his election win in a letter, — the
first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes to a U.S.
president-elect since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Iranian leader also said he hopes Obama will “use the opportunity
to serve the (American) people and leave a good name for history”
during his term in office.

In his conversation with Lee, Obama said the U.S.-South Korea alliance is a “cornerstone” of Asia’s peace and stability, and promised improved relations between the countries, Seoul‘s presidential office said.

The United States helped defend South Korea during the Korean war and is its No. 1 ally. About 28,500 American troops are still stationed there to deter threats from communist North Korea.

Brown’s Downing Street office says he and Obama spoke about several issues, including reform of the global financial system. Britain’s Press Association newswire said the two had a “very friendly and positive” 10-minute conversation, covering topics including the world economy, the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Middle East peace process.

Australia’s prime minister Kevin Rudd
told reporters in Sydney that he spoke by telephone with Obama Friday
to congratulate him on his historic win and discuss the various
challenges the lie ahead for the world, chief among them the global financial crisis. The two also talked about the issues of national security and climate change during the 10- to 15-minute conversation, Rudd said.

“It
was a good conversation, it was a friendly conversation,” Rudd said.
“The challenges we face are great….But I believe we have a strong
partner in the U.S.”

Ulrich Wilhelm, a
spokesman for Merkel, said in an e-mail that the German chancellor and
Obama, in their conversation, “agreed that close cooperation is the
best way to tackle the countless challenges that face the world‘s
nations, from Iran’s nuclear program and the stabilization of
Afghanistan to climate change and the financial markets crisis.”