Iran: The party's over

Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has had a good run. For how much longer? MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, Iran’s president, predicted in March that Barack Obama would never reach America’s highest office. “They will find a way of keeping him out of the White House, even if the entire American nation votes for him,” he said. In July Mr Ahmadinejad ventured another prediction. The price of oil, he declared, would never fall below $100 a barrel. Maybe Mr Ahmadinejad’s foresight was clouded by wishful thinking. The arch-conservative faction he represents has thrived during the Bush administration. America’s belligerence allowed Iran’s president to pose as a heroic underdog while record oil prices enabled him to pay for a binge in public spending. ... (link)