Three years after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s departure from the world stage as president of the Islamic Republic, the Supreme Ruler poured cold water on what most believed was a planned come-back. Ahmadinejad, who boisterous and buffoonish persona was a daily fixture in international media, often for predicting the end of the Jewish state or issuing threats to the West, left office under Iran’s version of term limits. Having served as president between 2005 and 2013, he can run again in 2017 and most observers thought he would until the Ayatollah Khamenei suggested that he not do so. His replacement, Hassan Rouhani, brought a softer style described as a “charm offensive” to the position and used it to craft a deal with the Western powers that opens the door to unlimited nuclear activity ten years down the road. Before that, huge sums of money for the state and the lifting of the West’s economic sanctions. Under Ahmadinejad, it appeared Iran was heading to even more sanctions. When he was re-elected in 2009, his victory touched-off mass protests that resulted in numerous deaths, torture and the detention of thousands of his opponents. Despite Ahmadinejad’s exit from the race, Rouhani still faces a strong challenge from forces opposed to his seemingly soft relationship with the West.
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