David Roberts

He Who Got Slapped: Ahmadinejad

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According to a recent Wikileaks cable release the Head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) slapped President Ahmadinejad in a heated meeting.

Under a section titled ‘He who got slapped’ someone from the US Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan reported the confrontation.

According to source, President Ahmedinejad surprised other SNSC members by taking a surprisingly liberal posture during a mid January post-Ashura meeting of the SNSC called to discuss next steps on dealing with opposition protests. Source said that Ahmedinejad claimed that “people feel suffocated,” and mused that to defuse the situation it may be necessary to allow more personal and social freedoms, including more freedom of the press.

According to source, Ahmedinejad’s statements infuriated Revolutionary Guard Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Jafari, who exclaimed “You are wrong! (In fact) it is YOU who created this mess! And now you say give more freedom to the press?!” Source said that Jafarli then slapped Ahmedinejad in the face, causing an uproar and an immediate call for a break in the meeting, which was never resumed.

Reading this reporting I am reminded of some kind of cross between a game of Chinese whispers and a ‘Days of Our Lives’ storyline. I can’t say I really know why.

The Spanish Paper that released that first commented on the story has been blocked in Iran.

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