Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and others among the Iranian leadership also believe that they are setting up the great cataclysm which will bring about the return of the Mahdi.
Many of them seem perfectly willing to die in order to fulfill this purpose. During a speech in Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly stated that his primary purpose in life is to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance.”
For example, AwaitedMahdi.com states that the “Last Hour” will not come “unless the Muslims fight against the Jews”.
Ariel Sharon understood these radical Islamic beliefs very well. Sharon is quoted as saying the following about Iran’s obsession with the Mahdi…. “How will they bring him? Through an apocalypse. He (the Mahdi) needs a war. He cannot come into this world without an Armageddon. He wants an Armageddon. The earlier we understand this the better. Ahmadinejad wants nuclear weapons for this!”
So was Sharon just exaggerating when he said this? Not at all. In fact, check out the following quotes from Ahmadinejad about how he believes that the United States is actively trying to prevent the return of the Mahdi….
“They have devised all these plans to prevent the coming of the Hidden Imam because they know that the Iranian nation is the one that will prepare the grounds for his coming and will be the supporters of his rule”. “We must prepare ourselves to rule the world and the only way to do that is to put forth views on the basis of the Expectation of the Return.” (Minor editing for space.)
Please read the entire article as it contains links to other statements and background information.
Analysis. I have maintained the position for a long time that everything that is happening in Iran in terms of the machinations of the government is directly related to the bringing forth of the Hidden Imam also known as Imam Mahdi.
It is obvious from the above statements what Ahmadinejad believes.
The conclusion to be drawn from this information is simple. It makes absolutely no difference what the rest of the World does to convince the Iranians that they want to give up their nuclear weapons programs. They will continue to develop nuclear weapons until they are ready to use them. They will use them.
I suspect the Iranians would prefer for political reasons for Israel, the United States or anybody else to be the aggressor.
They are perfectly willing to give up whatever people and facilities they might lose to an attack on their nuclear facilities. The people will be declared martyrs.
Then Iran will be free to conduct any military operations it considers necessary to bring forth the Mahdi including WMD strikes on Israel and any American troops still in theater.