Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 28 /Trend, T.Konyayeva/
The statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made in New York not only did not convince most people, but also had a negative impact on Iran itself, experts say.
"Iran has been cornered because of its nuclear program, and therefore, Ahmadinejad has not left other way, but to make such statements, which has hundred percent negative impact on Iran," - French expert of Iranian origin Hossein Lajevardi, the Chairman of the Iranian Research Center, told Trend in a telephone conversation.
During his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, Ahmadinejad said that the 9/11 events could be planned by the U.S. authorities to rescue the global economy and protect Israel. He also said that the terrorist attack on the twin towers was deliberately used by the U.S. authorities for the subsequent outbreak of military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In sign of protest, the American diplomats left the meeting hall, and the representatives from 32 delegations, friends of the U.S., including all EU countries, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, supported them.
According to Lajevardi, Ahmadinejad wanted to make a move that would divert international attention from the problems in Iran.
"His statements and interviews can be viewed as an attempt to escape from the problems and to be protected by attacking," he said.
"Ahmadinejad spoke on many of the biggest news shows in the US, but I do not believe he changed many people's opinions," said Joshua Landis, Director Center for Middle East Studies University of Oklahoma.
"The battle lines between the US and Iran have been drawn for a long time. Anger at Muslims is at all times high in America with the ground zero mosque dispute having just enflamed public opinion, Landis wrote to Trend in an e-mail. With the election season for congress at its height, many Republicans have incorporated anti-Islamic rhetoric as part of their campaign platform."
Being in New York, Ahmadinejad gave an interview to Fox News Channel, as well as CNN, where he participated in an evening show of the famous American TV presenter Larry King "Larry King Live".
According to American expert on Iran Robert Freedman, Ahmadinejad's visit was a disaster as far as US-Iranian relations are concerned.
"Calling the US Government responsible for 9/11- an obvious lie - makes it impossible for serious Americans to trust him on the nuclear question,"Freedman,Strategic Studies Institute Researcher, told Trend in an-e-mail.
The act of terror on Sept. 11, 2001 (sometimes referred to as the 9/11) is a series of coordinated suicide terrorist attacks that occurred in the U.S.. Officially, the responsibility for these attacks lies on the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
Nineteen terrorists, divided into four groups, captured four scheduled passenger airliners, two of which they directed towards the World Trade Center towers, located in the southern part of Manhattan in New York. As a result of attacks, both towers collapsed, causing severe destruction of surrounding buildings. The third plane was directed towards the Pentagon, near Washington. Passengers and crew of the fourth aircraft attempted to seize control of the aircraft from terrorists, crashed into a field near the town of Shenksvill in Pennsylvania. In addition to the 19 terrorists, the attacks killed 2,974 people, other 24 were missing. Most of the dead were civilians.
Professor at the Free University of Tehran Mirgasim Banihashimi believes that opinions about the statements of Ahmadinejad are divided: there are those who support them, and there are those who criticize.
"The U.S. and European countries have criticized all the visits and speeches by Iranian President, and this trend will certainly continue, Banihashimi, a member of the Strategic Studies Center under the Science Ministry of Iran, told Trend by telephone from Tehran. - It is natural that the United States and European countries in some media act with the negative assessment of his statements."
On the other hand, in his opinion, the third world countries (Arab, African and Asian countries) support Ahmadinejad's position and welcome his speech. Moreover, they regard his views and words as their own, said Banihashimi.
According to him, in Iran itself, opinions on this issue are divided: the opposition forces, university professors and some other Iranians have criticized his position, but others in the face of MPs, televisions and media support it.
"Interview and speeches by Ahmadinejad have been directed towards reflecting the real situation in Iran and bring them to Western and American press, said Banihashimi. From this point of view, he was able to somewhat mitigate the negative atmosphere around Iran."
According to Iranian expert, if to evaluate from the economic and political point of view, then eventually the U.S. and Western countries will be even more opposed against the Iranian government since Ahmadinejad touched on such issues during his speech, which may not please Western countries and the U.S. .
T.Jafarov contributed to the article.