Iran, the Next Five Years: Change or More of the Same?

The Middle East Program will hold a meeting on "Iran, the Next Five Years: Change or More of the Same?" with four Iran experts.

[samuelshabaz]

Very good program, the facts presented was very helpful for ordinary people like me with a political interest. Now! One of the main points i want to bring up that i feel was neglected (maybe because the agenda was a 5 year prospect, but still very much relevant) was the eight year period of Ahmadinejad.
Isn't it possible that Iran had a strategic plan with those eight years? To create a strong base forward? As we all know the government of Ahmadinejad was in place primarily for foreign policy issues rather the domestic.
One being the US and its allies on its door steps.
Two being pressured to agree to deals regarding its nuclear program not favorable to Iran.
Three being threatened by the Israel state.
The outcome of those eight years was very favorable to Iran as i see it, strategically.
One. They have now a strong presence in the world, attention towards their country (any marketing is good marketing)
Two. They "played the polls" world wide about the dissatisfaction of imperialism and gain allot of support on the main street.
Three. They sent a strong message that Iran will not accept any foreign involvement in internal affairs, scare tactics.
Four. They managed to "buy time" in their nuclear development program.
Five. Iran actually gained relations with many countries during his mandate.
These steps pouched back the warmongers, gained leverage in the nuclear talks and basically made Rohanis voice more heard than the previous modernist in Iran, Khatami. I think the tactic had its casualties but in the end showed Iran as a reasonable country and not to be messed with. In the end Ahmadinejad was the casualty, a sacrifice he did for Iran. As Bush did for the United States