(älç´ äk´bär häsh´emç räf&180;sänjän´ç) (Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani) , 1934-, Iranian religious and political leader, president of Iran (1989-97). A Shiite clergyman and supporter of Ayotallah Khomeini , Rafsanjani was imprisoned several times during the 1960s and 70s for his political activities. After the ouster of the Shah (see Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi ), Rafsanjani helped found the Islamic Republican party and built his political power base as speaker of the parliament (1980-89). From 1988 to 1989 he was also acting commander in chief of the armed forces. In 1989, Rafsanjani was elected president, receiving some 95% of the vote. A pragmatic conservative, he sought to revive Iran's badly flagging economy on free-market principles and moved to improve relations with the West, reestablish Iran as a regional power, and gradually reopen the country to foreign investment. He was reelected in 1993 with two thirds of the vote but was barred from seeking a third term in the 1997 elections. In 2000 he was narrowly elected to parliament, but he soon resigned his seat.

In a rare and exclusive interview in Tehran Sunday, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's former president and the consensus frontrunner in June's presidential elections, talked with USA TODAY's Barbara Slavin about U.S.-Iranian relations, al-Qaeda, and Iran's alleged nuclear bomb program.

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said that the United States cannot stop Iran from pursuing nuclear technology and warned against choosing a military "adventure" in the country.

"The Persian Gulf is not a region where they can have fireworks and Iran is not a country where they can come for an adventure," Rafsanjani told Muslim worshippers after Friday prayers.

and from Reuters

Feb 11, 2005 — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Washington will not stop Iran pursuing nuclear technology and should not attempt a military "adventure" in the country, an influential cleric said on Friday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has exhorted Iran to give up what she says is a nuclear weapons program.

U.S. officials have stressed diplomacy but not ruled out an attack against atomic sites, which Iran insists are to meet booming demand for electricity.


Rafsanjani: 'US should Follow Peaceful Approach with Iran'
Anadolu News Agency ^ | Friday 11, 2005


Posted on 02/11/2005 5:02:23 PM PST by F14 Pilot


Former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Akbar Hasimi Rafsancani, has said American officials should follow a peaceful path with Iran.


Rafsanjani Warns U.S. Against 'Adventures' in Iran

Fri Feb 11, 2:21 PM ET   World - Reuters


By Christian Oliver

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An influential Iranian cleric, in a new blast against Tehran's arch-enemy, told Washington on Friday it cannot stop Iran pursuing nuclear technology and should not attempt a military "adventure" in the country


With the electoral battle between Iran's conservatives and reformists for the control of the Sixth Majlis (Parliament) escalating during the run-up to the poll on 18 February, attention is turning increasingly to the role of Hojatalislam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The attention is well-deserved. Besides being

>>>>> one of the two seniormost politicians <<<<<<<

- the other being Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader - in the country, Rafsanjani has a reputation for mediating successfully between competing factions.







Sure sounds like he is speaking for Iran to me. But I guess Bobert knows so much more than me I should just accept anything he says as the Bobert-given truth, and not bother trying to find out reality.



Every year, in a tradition introduced by the late Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomenei, Iran marks World Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan to show its solidarity with the Palestinian people. Former Iranian president and

>>>>"Expediency Council" Chairman Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani <<<<

gave the Al-Quds Day sermon on December 14, 2001 at Tehran University, which was attended by thousands of worshippers. In the sermon, he addressed solving the problem of Israel with nuclear weapons.

http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP32502