A photo of Ahmadinejad hugging the deceased's mother that caused a controversy in Iran was taken during the 2013 funeral of which world leader? (hint: not Nelson Mandela!)
"he stated that his relationship with the supreme leader ""is that of a father and a son."" In 2012, Khamenei ordered a halt to a parliamentary inquiry into Ahmadinejad's mishandling of the Iranian economy. In 2016, Khamenei advised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his former ally with whom his relationship was strained after Ahmadinejad accused his son Mojtaba Khamenei of embezzling from the state treasury, to not run for president again. Ahmedinejad was criticised by the religious and political groups in Iran for photographs taken of him embracing Elena Frias de Chavez, the mother of recently deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, at his"
"funeral. In the image, Ahmedinejad was thought to be holding her hands and in a cheek-to-cheek embrace; such an act, touching an unrelated woman, is considered haraam (forbidden) in Islam. Iranian government officials responded by stating that the image was a fake, then released a second photo showing Ahmadinejad in the same pose, but in this case hugging a man. This later photograph was debunked when it was discovered that the other man was Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who had not been at the funeral. One of the most frequent criticisms about Ahmedinejad was the nepotism in his governments."
"Ahmadinejad attended the funeral of his “good friend” Chavez. Ahmadinejad embraced Chavez’s grieving mother at the funeral in “a show of compassion and support,” which according to CNN in Iran “was immediately bashed by newspapers and by conservative politicians who cited a religious prohibition against touching a woman who is not your wife or a relative.” After the funeral, Ahmadinejad affirmed that Iran-Venezuelan relations would stay strong regardless of who was elected as the next Venezuelan president. At the time, as of March 10, 2013, ""annual bilateral trade between the two countries is estimated to be in the hundreds of"
"hours later, it had been retweeted over 2.8 million times. It beat the previous record, 778,801, which was held by Barack Obama, following his victory in the 2012 presidential election. U.S. President Barack Obama made news headlines during Nelson Mandela's memorial celebration at Johannesburg's FNB Stadium with various world leaders, as he was snapped taking a selfie and sharing smiles with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and later with British Prime Minister David Cameron, as they gathered to pay tribute to Mandela. The decision to take the selfies was considered to be in poor taste, as British political columnist Iain"
"75 countries attended the funeral, with President Barack Obama among those who gave a eulogy. Since the funeral for Nelson Mandela, this was only the second time Obama traveled overseas for the funeral of a foreign leader. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke. Among the other delegates in attendance and speaking were former President Bill Clinton. Other delegates included PA President Mahmoud Abbas, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, German President Joachim Gauck, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and King Felipe VI of Spain. The UK delegation included Prince Charles, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson,"
"the VIP seat on the Presidential plane, and that he eventually replaced it with a cargo plane instead. Upon gaining Iran's presidency, Ahmadinejad held his first cabinet meeting in the Imam Reza shrine at Mashhad, an act perceived as ""pious"". He also used to lay an extra place for the 12th Imam at his weekly cabinet briefings. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( , born Mahmoud Sabbaghian () on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian politician who was the sixth President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic"
"with a hostage, which was quickly published by the major Western news agencies AP, Reuters, and AFP. Publication of the photograph drew criticism because it was presented to the world without due investigation or verification. In response to the publication Saeed Hajjarian, a reformist politician with a background in intelligence, denied that the picture is Ahmadinejad. Hajjarian told Associated Press and later ""ISNA"" that the person in the photograph is a student named Taghi Mohammadi. Associated Press and other sources reported that Mohammadi was a militant who later turned into a dissident. He was arrested for being connected to the"
"Vice-President Richard Cheney. Some of the world leaders who attended the summit decided to extend their stay in the U.S. to attend the funeral in Washington. One of them was German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Joining him in doing so were British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Those that did not extend their stay, like Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paid tribute at the summit. The funeral took place the day after the summit ended. For Afghan Interim President Hamid Karzai, the summit was part of his week-long visit to"
"after the allegations appeared in several popular conservative news sites associated with supreme leader Ali Khamenei, suggesting the supreme leader supported the investigation. The disputes were seen as part of the clash between Ahmadinejad and other conservatives and former supporters, including supreme leader Khamenei, over what the conservatives see as Ahmadinejad's confrontational policies and abuse of power. Early in his presidency, Ahmadinejad was sometimes described as ""enjoy[ing] the full backing"" of the Supreme Leader , and even as being his ""protege."" In Ahmadinejad's 2005 inauguration the supreme leader allowed Ahmadinejad to kiss his hand and cheeks in what was called"
"coffin. On June 11, a state funeral was conducted in the Washington National Cathedral, and presided over by President George W. Bush. Eulogies were given by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and both former President George H. W. Bush and President George W. Bush. Also in attendance were Mikhail Gorbachev, and many world leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles, representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and interim presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, and Ghazi al-Yawer of Iraq. After the funeral, the"
"President of India, Pranab Mukherjee; President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma; President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev; President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev; President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon; President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan; President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev; President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić; President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj; President of Vietnam, Trương Tấn Sang; President of Cuba, Raúl Castro; President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro; President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; and the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. In all, around 30 international leaders attended the parade, including heads of UNESCO and the Council"
"which was taken using Thorning-Schmidt's mobile phone. Defending her actions, Thorning-Schmidt said, ""There were lots of pictures taken that day, and I just thought it was a bit fun. Maybe it also shows that when we meet heads of state and government, we too are just people who have fun."" Cameron said he was being polite when Thorning-Schmidt asked him to take part in the picture. Mandela's body lay in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria from 11 to 13 December 2013. Approximately 100,000 mourners viewed Mandela's body over the three days. The crowds grew larger each day and"
"of Greece and Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Bronisław Geremek, Emil Constantinescu, Andrei Pleşu, Adolf Ogi, Momir Bulatović, Kim Jong-pil, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Al-Saadi Gaddafi, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Queen Anak Saleha of Brunei, Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei, Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah, Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Ermias Sahle Selassie, King Harald V of Norway, Jason Hu, Vartan Oskanian, Goh Chok Tong, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Cheikh El Avia, and Jackie Stewart. Upon her arrival, Queen Sofia of Spain discovered that as a woman, she could not attend the funeral itself. Madeleine Albright, the US"
"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. (Masha’i had made a statement regarding the friendly relations between the Iranian nation and the Israeli people, as opposed to the Israeli state.) On 11 December 2010, Nourizad started a hunger strike to protest a lack of attention from Iranian authorities to his complaints of alleged mistreatment by interrogators at the Evin prison. On 16 December authorities detained his family members after they showed up outside the prison to inquire about his failing health. On July 15, 2013, Nourizad kissed the feet of a 4-year-old Bahá'í boy whose parents had been arrested"
"foreign leaders like Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, Turkeministan Deputy Prime Minister Raşit Meredow, Iraqi foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Georgian foreign minister Mikheil Janelidze, Azerbaijan parliament chair Ogtay Asadov, Malian national assembly president Issaka Sidibé, British Ambassador Nicholas Hopton, Lebanon's Nabih Berri and Armenian parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan also attended the event. The truck carrying Rafsanjani's coffin topped with his trademark white turban inched down Enqelab Street, one of the capital's main thoroughfares. Rafsanjani was buried next to the former supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini. According to Iranian TV and governor of Tehran, 2.5"
"Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust"" opened to widespread condemnation. The conference, called for by and held at the behest of Ahmadinejad, was widely described as a ""Holocaust denial conference"" or a ""meeting of Holocaust deniers"", though Iran denied it was a Holocaust denial conference. A few months before it opened, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi stated: ""The Holocaust is not a sacred issue that one can't touch. I have visited the Nazi camps in Eastern Europe. I think it is exaggerated."" In 2013, in an interview with CNN, newly elected Iranian President Hassan"
"of Ahmadinejad. The dispute centered on Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a top adviser and close confidant of Ahmadinejad, and accused leader of a ""deviant current"" opposing greater involvement of clerics in politics. Although functions such as the appointment of the commanders of the armed forces and the members of national security councils are handled by the Supreme Leader and not by Iran's president, Ahmadinejad gained considerable international attention for his foreign policy. Under Ahmadinejad, Iran's strong ties with the Republic of Syria and Hezbollah of Lebanon continued, and new relationships with predominantly Shia neighbor Iraq and fellow opponent of U.S. foreign"
"threat to international security with its nuclear weapons."" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned the summit in the U.S. He called the meeting ""humiliating to humanity. World summits being organised these days are intended to humiliate human beings. These foolish people who are in charge are like stupid, retarded people who brandish their swords whenever they face shortcomings, without realising that the time for this type of thing is over."" Iran was not officially on the summit agenda. Iran organized a two-day nuclear conference which was held a week after this summit, with the theme """"Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons"
"Former President of Ghana John Agyekum Kufuor, President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Mozambique Joaquim Alberto Chissano, President of the Republic of Bolivia Carlos Diego Mesa Gisbert, President of the Republic of Romania Ion Iliescu, President of the Republic of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, the first female President of Finland Tarja Halonen, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Iraq President Jalal Talabani, the 14th Dalai Lama, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, financier George Soros, Mayor of New York City Michael"
"Ahmadinejad visited Ghana prior to being succeeded in term of office by the 7th President of Iran and 31st Secretary-General of the NAM Hassan Rouhani. President Ahmadinejad met with the 12th President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama and members of the Iranian community of Ghana on 16 April 2013 to hold discussions with President John Dramani Mahama on strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and also co–chair a bilateral meeting between the two countries Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace Flagstaff House and Ahmadinejad was greeted by dozens of Ghanaians carrying banners and flags of Iran and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to"
"the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first foreign leader to congratulate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his re-election) and ""the Russian Embassy is the den of espionage,"" as they passed the embassy's complex in the heart of Tehran. People also called for the release of hunger strikers in Iranian prisons. State television, broadcasting the funeral live, airbrushed the protests, which were nevertheless allowed to proceed without police intervention. Death and state funeral of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani On 8 January 2017, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth President of Iran and the country's Chairman of Expediency Discernment"
"represented by leading political figures, including president Hosni Mubarak and prime minister Kamal Ganzouri. The funeral also brought together enemies, including the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatmeh, who approached the Israeli president Ezer Weizman, praised him as a man of peace and shook his hand. It was the first time that Syrian president Hafez al-Assad (Who died a year later) and Benjamin Netanyahu were together in same place, though they did not meet. Other dignitaries included: Iraqi Vice-President Taha Marouf, King Albert II of Belgium, Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain"
"president Rafsanjani and supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei. At the UN Security Council, Gaddafi vindicated Iranian's nuclear program and opposed enforce sanctions against the Muslim republic. But by the kidnapping of Musa al-Sadr, the relations between the two countries became dark. In 2011 Libyan ambassador in Iran resigned by popular protests . During the internal conflicts in Libya, Iran supported revolutionists and sentenced NATO and the USA for their conversation.In 30th August 2011, Abdel Jalil solicited for the return of Iran's ambassador to Libyan, Iran-Libya relations was strengthened. There, Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi has invited the chief"
"Morsi, as the chair of the 15th summit declared opening of the 16th summit and presented the report of NAM's chairmanship during the past three years. Morsi officially handed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After Morsi, President of the Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the Group of 77 Mourad Benmehidi, host President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivered their opening speeches. Khamenei later commented that ""the Non-Aligned Movement definitely has more political right than the US, NATO or some"
"unrest. For the fifth day, staged rallies were held against the anti-government protests. However, according to an article in ""The Wall Street Journal"", signs of unrest remain, with dozens of videos circulating in social media showing the burning of government documents. According to a report in Al-Quds Al-Arabi, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been arrested in Iran and kept under house arrest with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, for ""inciting violence"", after he criticized the current government of Iran during the protests. Sina Ghanbari, a 23-year-old man arrested during the protests, was reported to have died at"
"million attended his funeral. It was the second largest funeral in Iran and the first in the last 25 years after funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini. The Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran announced that a memorial service will be held in Beit Rahbari by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 11 January in memorial of Hashemi Rafsanjani. It was attended by the survivors of Rafsanjani and governmental and foreign officials. Another memorial service was also held in the same day by the Rafsanjani family in the mosque of Azad University central building. Another ceremonies was held in different cities like Qom"
"the world would be starving."" In December 2007, Maradona presented a signed shirt with a message of support to the people of Iran: it is displayed in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' museum. In April 2013, Maradona visited the tomb of Hugo Chávez and urged Venezuelans to elect the late leader's designated successor, Nicolás Maduro, to continue the socialist leader's legacy; ""Continue the struggle,"" Maradona said on television. Maradona attended Maduro's final campaign rally in Caracas, signing footballs and kicking them to the crowd, and presented Maduro with an Argentina jersey. Having visited Chávez's tomb with Maradona, Maduro said,"
"for None."""" At that conference, President Ahmadinejad took issue with the U.S.' establishment of a new policy that did not rule out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and North Korea, both of which have withdrawn from or violated the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and had UN Security Council Resolutions passed against them. Ahmadinejad further called for more rigorous action than that outlined by the above summit. Iranian supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated a religious edict he had issued earlier against the use of all nuclear weapons. The Summit was described by ""The Washington Post"" as"
"of ignoring fanatics like Iran's president, especially as he inches closer to acquiring nuclear weapons."" In a speech to the United Nations on 26 September 2012, which some media said was notable for having ""none of the usual dishevelled extremism"" or ""sabre rattling"" that he is known for, Ahmadinejad called for a new world order not dominated by Western powers and condemned the continual threats of military action against Iran by ""uncivilized Zionists."" The United States, Israel, and Canada refused to attend during his speech. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hinted Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and"
"African President Nelson Mandela; Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the assassinated South African freedom fighter Chris Hani; the late former British Prime Minister James Callaghan; former British Foreign Secretary and deputy Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Howe (later Lord Howe); former British Foreign Secretary Dr David Owen (later Lord Owen); former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga; former American United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young; Sir Shridath Ramphal and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, both former Secretaries-General of the Commonwealth, and many more. Early February 2002 when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair embarked on his first tour of"
"the president of Cannes Gilles Jacob on the red carpet. Responses ranged from criticism by the Iranian government to support from Iranian opposition parties. Former president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kissed the mother of former President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez at his funeral. Cheek kissing Cheek kissing is a ritual or social kissing gesture to indicate friendship, family relationship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, to show respect, or to indicate sexual or romantic interest. Cheek kissing is very common in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Latin"
"including Indian Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, P. V. Narasimha Rao, and Chandra Sekhar; Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdullah; Pakistani leaders Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Ziaul Haq, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif; Cambodian leader Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, Nobel laureate Mother Teresa and cricketer Imran Khan. Shahriar is the International President Emeritus of the Toronto-based Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA). He is the first journalist from Asia-Pacific to be elected as president of this organization in 2003. He was re-elected in 2008 and retired in 2012. He served the vice-president of CJA from 1997 to 2003. He was also elected"
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( , born Mahmoud Sabbaghian () on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian politician who was the sixth President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country. An engineer and teacher from a poor background, ideologically shaped by thinkers such as Navvab Safavi, Jalal Al-e-Ahmad and Ahmad Fardid, Ahmadinejad joined the Office for Strengthening Unity after the Iranian Revolution. Appointed a provincial governor, he was removed after the election of President Mohammad Khatami and"