Iranian cleric wants creation of 'Greater Iran'

[Lagomorph]

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - A radical cleric called Saturday for the creation of a "Greater Iran" that would rule over the entire Middle East and Central Asia, in an event that he said would herald the coming of Islam's expected messiah.

Ayatollah Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi said the creation of what he calls an Islamic United States is a central aim of the political party he leads called Hezbollah, or Party of God, and that he hoped to make it a reality if they win the next presidential election.

Kharrazi's comments reveal the thinking of a growing number of hard-liners in Iran, many of whom have become more radical during the post election political crisis and the international standoff over the country's nuclear program. Kharrazi, however, is not highly influential in Iran's clerical hierarchy and his views do not represent those of the current government.

Kharrazi's comments were published Saturday in his newspaper, Hezbollah.

He said he envisioned a Greater Iran that would stretch from Afghanistan to Israel, bringing about the destruction of the Jewish state.

more...

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100515/D9FN9INO3.html

[Ozymanithrax]

1. There are crazies on both sides... n/t

[deaniac21]

4. I think the Iranian crazies trump any other crazies. But I'll admit

I don't have your ability to forgive crazy assholes that don't care if they cause the whole world to die. I have several Iranian friends and you wouldn't believe what a fucked up country Iran is.

[Ozymanithrax]

5. I did not forgive the crazies in Iran.

I just said we have crazies on both sides.

Hell, crazies in this country ran the show for 8 years. The whole "Greater Iran" is nothing more than Bin Laden's Caliphate, a uniting of all Muslims as predicted in their own end of times.

We have our own end of times crazies here in the U.S., people who pray every day that Jesus returns and tortures 4/5ths of the human race to death because he loves us so much.

[KonaKane]

2. Yeah, and evangelical Christians believe that Jesus is coming back pissed

and ready to institute a totalitarian world government of his own.

I don't know why these conflicting claims are news.

[Lagomorph]

3. Not really news.

There are plenty of whackos to go around.

I've been to churches where the leadership and congregation are just as radical as these Muslim clerics.

Keep track of the names, they're always the same.

[Tempest]

6. If they think they can succeed where the U.S. has failed, good luck with that

The U.S. has been trying to homogenize the Middle East for 60 years without any luck.

[krispos42]

7. Well, I doubt preaching a "Lesser Iran" would make him popular...

:-) :rofl: