Ahmadinejad Under Fire

Iranian hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s foreign policy positions are facing open criticism from the three challengers seeking his job. Leading reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi has even gone so far as to openly accuse Ahmadinejad of damaging Iran’s international reputation to the point that its passports hold about as much value as those from Somalia. Ahmadinejad responded by saying that his oponents were serving western interests by trivializing Iran’s problems.

Matthew Yglesias sees this development as an indicator that President Obama‘s willingness to engage Iran has been successful in shaping and opening up Iran’s internal foreign policy debate.