Ahmadinejad’s charm offensive

In his letter writing campaign of late, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has penned greetings to President George Bush, French president Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Now he’s sent a personal letter to Pope Benedict.

A spokesman for the Iranian president stated yesterday in the Iranian capital that Ahmadinejad’s letter was “non political”, that it focused on the “shared teachings of the prophets” and the need for “close collaboration” between the religions against unjust relations that exist in the world.

Recently, the focus on Christian-Muslim cooperation was made clear in the Iranian president’s Christmas message, which in itself was almost a “Christmas miracle” in the country considered to be the “land of the Magi”.

As his style, Ahmadinejad spoke about Jesus Christ as “a divine prophet” and of the “Holy Mary” as “a great model for women”.

What’s he up to, with these messages?

Strategically, Iran, after the United Nations security Council resolution against it, is sending various signals around the world.

It is interesting to note that this charm offensive against the Catholic Church comes in the wake of the less-than-charming offensive against Israel on the issues of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Charm offensive. That’s it.

It is likely to be part of the preparatory work for Foreign Minister Mottaki’s visit to the Vatican.

In the face of UN sanctions against Iran for its uranium enrichment activity, Ahmadinejad is looking for friends and allies, especially someone the world respects. Who better than Benedict?