Top 137 Quotes & Sayings by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Show me one dictatorship in the world that has not been supported by the United States government or some European governments. It almost doesn't exist. I think a dictatorship and hegemony are part of the same phenomenon.

We see today that there is a growing understanding in the international community that the extremist regime in Tehran is not just Israel's problem, but rather an issue that the entire international community must grapple with.

We believe that visa quotas should be lifted and people should visit anywhere they wish freely.

For this reason, the expansion of relations with all countries is on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I mean balanced relationships, based on mutual respect and observation of each other's rights.

We've never been anti-Semitic.

I believe the people of the U.S. are peace-loving people.

The United States' administrations... must recognize that Iran is a big power. Having said that, we consider ourselves to be a human force and a cultural power and hence a friend of other nations. We have never sought to dominate others or to violate the rights of any other country.

The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world.

The best world is one in which all countries cooperate with one another to kind of meet each other's needs and be partners in the process.

Those who insist on having hostilities with us, kill and destroy the option of friendship with us in the future, which is unfortunate because it is clear the future belongs to Iran and that enmities will be fruitless.

I'm an academic. I teach at the university, and that's where I will go back to.

The system of domination is founded on depriving nations of their true identity. It seeks to deprive nations of their culture, identity, self-confidence and in this way dominate them.

We desire an expansion of relations with regional states and the establishment of extensive public contacts.

People should have freedom in their pilgrimages and tours. They should come and visit historical monuments and sites - let's say the sites around Iran - where they can easily engage in wide- scale contacts with others.

For hundreds of years Iranians have been migrating to many parts of the world. They took Islamic culture to other parts of the world and established it there.

The government of Iran has no problem with the American nation.

Nuclear energy is the scientific achievement of the Iranian nation.

Iranians defend and present their Islamic and Iranian identity to other people worldwide.

Technical knowledge has now become an integral aspect of the Iranian psyche.

Governments and nations should sit together and resolve issues. Reforms must be reached through understanding. But others should not interfere.

I cannot determine what people or nations should do, but I do think that extremism gives birth to following and subsequent extremism.

The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of the war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land.

Global equations undergo changes, this is their nature.

Our dear country, Iran, throughout history has been subject to threats.

The Zionists are very much, very adventuresome, very much seeking to fabricate things, and I think they see themselves at the end of the line, and I do firmly believe that they seek to create new opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.

It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals.

I'm not in charge of judgments in Iran. The judicial system in Iran is an independent body of its own, and it follows the laws, and it must operate according to the law.

I pass no judgment about historic events. I defend the human freedoms. Whatever event has taken place throughout history, or hasn't taken place, I cannot judge that.

In Iran, people are free to express their views. Every day, some people criticize the policies of the government.

I think everyone must settle for what is in the parameter of their own rights. No one must have an evil intention toward the territorial benefit or integrity of other nations.

Fundamentally, I do agree, certainly, people must be allowed to express their own opinions freely. Freedom is part of the essential rights of all nations.

I do hope that all nations can live in complete security and welfare.

The UN structure is one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam.

Of course what is talked about in the U.N. General Assembly is very important. Officials, the leaders of nations, appear there to speak of the most important topics - what they perceive to be the most important topics.

Today, the Muslim world is the poorest of the global powers.

Our enemies can deal a blow to us any time they wish. They did not wait for permission to do this. They do not deal a blow with prior notice. They do not take action because they can't.

We are not afraid of nuclear weapons. The point is that if we had in fact wanted to build a nuclear bomb, we are brave enough to say that we want it. But we never do that.

Prior to the United Nations even being formed, Palestine was a country. But the right of the Palestinian people were trampled, and unfortunately, international organizations contributed to those rights being trampled.

Cooperation and collaboration among nations and countries can help in the process of development of promoting welfare as well as bringing peace and stability.

Any nation has the right and will indeed defend herself.

Crime against the individual is the equivalent of crime against humanity.

Fortunately, Iranians are politically active worldwide.

Every year, millions of people from Iran and Iraq travel to each other's countries, and we also have marriages between Iraqis and Iranians. Many Iranians were born in Iraq, and many Iraqis were born in Iran. This is a kind of special, cordial amicable ties.

We have a relationship with Syria, an old relationship. We also have good relations with the people of Syria, with all segments of the population. This is the situation as well in Iraq and other countries.

I do believe that all of the world needs reform. The reform must take place everywhere.

Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury.

One can not impede scientific progress.

In Iran I think nobody loses their job because of making a statement that reflects their opinion. From this point of view, conditions in Iran are far better than in many other places in the world.

Our nation is today a powerful nation.

We do believe that freedom, the right to choose, the right to vote, respect and justice is the fundamental right of all people. All people must obtain these rights.

Israel must be wiped off the map.

Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime [in Israel] must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine... I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world.

We will convert the entire world to Islam with our logic. We are confident that the Islamic logic, culture, and discourse can prove their superiority in all fields over all schools of thought and theories.

The Israeli regime is a tool in the hands of Zionists to control the Middle-East and the entire world.

No country in the world looks upon America as a friend. When the U.S. is mentioned, people are reminded of war, aggression and bloodshed, and that's not a good thing. In other words, the American people are paying for something they don't believe in.

We thank God that our enemies are idiots.

I believe that with the complete formation of the global Zionist network, they have seized control of the fate of the European governments, and of the US government. To the independent countries in the world, I would like to say: You should know that the influence of the Zionist network on your culture, your politics, and your economy is tantamount to a violation of your independence. They cling like ticks. The moment they gain influence, they never stop.

The accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible.

Liberalism and Western-style democracy have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems.

If the Holocaust that you talk about was real, why don't you allow the subject to be studied? One can freely research any issue, except for this issue, which is sealed. It is a black box, which they do not allow to be opened or reexamined. They do this in order to exploit it.