The moderate Khatami, voice of sweet reason, champion of dialogue with the West, Gallant to Ahmadinejad’s Goofus, shows another side to his delightfully complex personality.
By Alex Kogan for the Jerusalem Post, with thanks to Looney Tunes:
Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has called for peaceful dialogue with the West, but last week cursed Israeli journalists who approached him at the sixth Eurasion Media Forum in Kazakhstan.
Khatami reiterated that Iran had a right to a peaceful civilian nuclear energy program and that it did not intend to develop nuclear weapons. “We want to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes only,” he claimed….
Iran’s former president also said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was overseeing Iran’s nuclear activity, and pointed out that Iran was a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while “other states in the Middle East” were treated differently….
Nevertheless, despite his calls for “dialogue,” Khatami refused to speak to the Israeli reporters present at the talks.
Channel 10 later reported that Khatami, heading for his suite, had cursed them, saying, “Go to hell!”
On Friday, Khatami decided to skip the scheduled panel on Iran’s nuclear program because an Israeli representative was slated to speak.