Ahmadinejad: Selflessness and martyrdom-seeking, only way to save mankind

Mehran Riazaty: Iran Analyst

IRNA On February 01, 06- Ahmadinejad said that selflessness and martyrdom-seeking is the only way to save mankind, adding, "We are all obliged to keep alive the culture of martyrdom-seeking in the society." Ahmadinejad made this remarks in a meeting with families of martyrs and war-disabled veteran of the province on Wednesday night at a religious center, adding, the Culture of martyrdom-seeking is our most effective weapon and best guarantee for our national security." The President reiterated, "Ruthless enemies who have a chronic enmity against our country and our nation have not succeeded in achieving their objectives so far thanks to the existence of this culture of martyrdom-seeking among our nation." Further stressing that the attitude and culture of martyrdom-seeking is the best guarantee for a nation's survival, he said, "He who is ready for martyrdom is always victorious." Ahmadinejad reiterated, "Martyrdom is the peak of mankind's perfection and the martyrs enjoy the highest status of humanity in this world and the Hereafter." READ MORE

Analyst Comment: Ayatollah Khomeini’s wish to export his revolution is coming true-- not by war as in the Iran-Iraq war, but by soft diplomacy backed by the culture of Martyrdom throughout the Middle East. The Iranian regime has not exported their revolution yet, but it definitely has exported the culture of martyrdom throughout the Middle East. The fact is that before the Islamic Revolution, there was no such a deadly culture in the Middle East. The culture of suicide bombing was started after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran.

Aftab News On November 28, 05- Mohammad-Ali Samadi, the Iranian spokesman for a government-orchestrated campaign to recruit suicide bombers said Lebanon’s Hezbollah group learnt suicide operation tactics from Iran. He added that Iran first developed the tactic during its eight-year war with Iraq. Samadi noted that “Lebanese Hezbollah used its ties with Iran to adopt the Iranian model and utilized it successfully with light guns and light-weight short-range rockets.”

A few examples of this deadly culture:

4/ 18/ 83: Hezbollah suicide bomber with the support of Iran and Libya crashed a pickup truck full of explosive into the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. 63 people killed, of whom 17 were US citizens.

10/ 23/ 83: Shiite suicide bombers from the Hezbollah organization, with the support of Iran’s government, bombed barracks in Beirut, Lebanon where US Marines and French paratroopers were housed. 299 were killed, including 241 US Marines.

12/ 12/ 83: Shiites suicide truck bomber working for the Iran’s government crashed into the US embassy in Kuwait. Total of 5 people killed, and 80 were wounded.

11/ 20/ 84: Truck bomb exploded outside the Aukar, Lebanon annex of the US embassy
in Beirut. 24 people were killed, including 2 US military personnel.

6/ 14/ 85: TWA Flight 847 from Athens to Rome was hijacked and diverted to Beirut, Lebanon. Hijackers demanded the release of 500 Shiites imprisoned by Israel and the 17 suspects imprisoned in Kuwait for the 12/ 12/ 83 bombing of the US embassy in Kuwait. Hijackers killed U.S. Navy Diver Robert Stethem and threw his body out onto the airport tarmac. Israel released some Shiite prisoners and some of the hostages were released. In 1987 the US government claimed that Hezbollah leader Imad Mugniyah as a suspect in the planning, but he was never apprehended.

1994: Hezbollah agents bombed Israeli cultural center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

6/ 25/ 96: Truck bombing of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a residence of US military personnel. 19 US military personnel were killed.

December 20, 2003- According to Reuters a Turkish man has admitted he received $50.000 from an Iranian source and sent it to Turkey to finance suicide bomb attacks in Istanbul.

Mehran Riazaty: a former Iran analyst for the Central Command of the Coalition Forces in Baghdad.