Ahmedjinad has basically been reduced to a lame duck president after the recent elections and there is an intense power struggle between the Khamnenei and him which he has pretty much lost as of now.
The main problem is that Iran is a country that has an ideologically inclined regime with a cleric as a head of state. That makes them unpredicatable at times. Unless the clerical authority is weakened or removed and transparent democracy comes into place, you will have these loose cannons around with the internal actors jockeying for influence. The next presidential elections are in 2013 so until he goes and some other sane person becomes a President, I don't see any major improvement on Iran's status and India-Iran relations as well.
Interestingly the most recent Iran-India contacts were just a few days ago at the PM level. Something to watch out for is wether PM MMS does go to Iran although I would expect him to just send the FM or some other minister in his place. Espicially if the nuclear weapons issue is not resolved till then.
Ahmadinejad calls PM amid US pressure on India to cut Iranian, IBN Live News
New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) Against the backdrop of US pressure on India to cut oil imports from Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to emphasise that expansion of ties in different fields would lead to "considerable achievements" for both nations. Ahmadinejad called up the Prime Minister on Monday last primarily to invite him to the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit to be hosted by his country in August, sources said today. He told Singh that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi would be travelling to New Delhi shortly carrying his personal invitation for the Summit, the sources said. During the conversation, the two leaders talked about the status of bilateral ties and international issues of mutual interest, the sources said. According to an official statement issued by Ahmedinejad's office soon after the telephonic talk, the Iranian President "stressed (on) expansion of Tehran-New Delhi cooperation in different fields". The President said that "promotion of bilateral cooperation would lead to considerable achievements for both nations," it said. Ahmadinejad said Iran and India enjoy "deep brotherly relations" and that "the two nations would witness bright future", the statement said. The Prime Minister, on his part, said India attaches great importance to ties with Iran and "called for further expansion of cooperation with Tehran", the statement said. "The Premier said India welcomes widening relations with Iran on the basis of national interests," it said. Sources here said the two leaders discussed trade-related issues.
The main problem is that Iran is a country that has an ideologically inclined regime with a cleric as a head of state. That makes them unpredicatable at times. Unless the clerical authority is weakened or removed and transparent democracy comes into place, you will have these loose cannons around with the internal actors jockeying for influence. The next presidential elections are in 2013 so until he goes and some other sane person becomes a President, I don't see any major improvement on Iran's status and India-Iran relations as well.
Interestingly the most recent Iran-India contacts were just a few days ago at the PM level. Something to watch out for is wether PM MMS does go to Iran although I would expect him to just send the FM or some other minister in his place. Espicially if the nuclear weapons issue is not resolved till then.
Ahmadinejad calls PM amid US pressure on India to cut Iranian, IBN Live News
New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) Against the backdrop of US pressure on India to cut oil imports from Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to emphasise that expansion of ties in different fields would lead to "considerable achievements" for both nations. Ahmadinejad called up the Prime Minister on Monday last primarily to invite him to the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit to be hosted by his country in August, sources said today. He told Singh that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi would be travelling to New Delhi shortly carrying his personal invitation for the Summit, the sources said. During the conversation, the two leaders talked about the status of bilateral ties and international issues of mutual interest, the sources said. According to an official statement issued by Ahmedinejad's office soon after the telephonic talk, the Iranian President "stressed (on) expansion of Tehran-New Delhi cooperation in different fields". The President said that "promotion of bilateral cooperation would lead to considerable achievements for both nations," it said. Ahmadinejad said Iran and India enjoy "deep brotherly relations" and that "the two nations would witness bright future", the statement said. The Prime Minister, on his part, said India attaches great importance to ties with Iran and "called for further expansion of cooperation with Tehran", the statement said. "The Premier said India welcomes widening relations with Iran on the basis of national interests," it said. Sources here said the two leaders discussed trade-related issues.