that the Iranian people would never be intimidated by bullying and warmongering rhetoric.
The regime has maintained that President Obama and other US officials curse at and demean both the Iranian people and the Iranian government. It ignores the fact that Obama decreed that the rhetoric be turned down after taking office and has not used harsh rhetoric himself—even, to the anger of many in the United States, when it came to the suppression of the post-election protests in 2009.
Addressing a large crowd in the Western city of Yasuj last Wednesday, Ahmadi-nejad said that Americans should not feel they can humiliate the Iranian people. “What I say to them is: shame on you, don’t talk to us in a demeaning manner.”
He said, “You are standing against a great, civilization-breeding nation. You should behave yourself and you should know that you will have no option but dialogue with the Iranian nation.” But the stated official position of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi opposes any dialogue with the United States.
Ahmadi-nejad said, “If you continue this rude behavior and refrain from recognizing our nation’s rights and honor—for whatever reason—then I, as the representative of this nation, tell you that this people will not retreat even one iota in the face of your expansionist demands.”
Ahmadi-nejad did not cite any specific remarks by any senior officials. He did not mention that US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said three times in the last few weeks that it would be against US interests to go to war with Iran. Those comments have apparently been censored in Iran, as they have not appeared in print; they would undermine the very point Ahmadi-nejad was making.
Obama’s most recent comment on Iran before Ahmadi-nejad spoke was to confirm that a US drone aircraft had flown into Iranian airspace and to announce that Washington had requested that Iran return it. Iran has reported that Obama “demanded” that Iran return the drone.
The Fars news agency called Obama’s drone remarks “shameless and contemptuous.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast lambasted Obama for asking Tehran to send back the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone. Mehman-Parast said the US should instead apologize for violating Iranian airspace and carrying out espionage operations against the interests of the Iranian nation.