Ahmadinejad and August 22

Now it appears it is the Iranians who are worried about August 22.

Ahmadinejad's promise to give a formal answer to the incentives package offered by the West if he suspends uranium enrichment projects by that date has had many people in the West deeply concerned. August 22 is the day that Sunni Muslims celebrate Mohammad's night flight to - presumably - Jerusalem, prompting speculation that Iran's president might be contemplating some hugely destructive act against Jerusalem at that date, or at least something that would throw the Middle East into even greater turmoil. Ahmadinejad has made it quite clear he believes the return of the Mahdi to be imminent and according to Shiite belief, this return will be preceded by a time of upheaval. Few people doubt Mahmoud's willingness to hasten things along by stirring the pot.

But now the Iranians are conducting massive military manoeuvres because they fear that terrorists are plotting an attack on Jerusalem in order to give Israel and the US a pretext to bomb Iran. Read this DEBKAfile Special Report for further details.

Sometimes I feel like I've fallen down a rabbit hole.

Middle Easterners are said to be fond of deliciously complex conspiracy theories. So does this mean that the Iranians are going to pull off some stunt in Jerusalem and use it as a pretext to claim that they are the ones being framed, thereby giving THEM an excuse to attack overtly? Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

My fondest hope is that Mahmoud does precisely nothing and then has a good laugh on all of us. If he has a sense of humour.

Hat tip to Dreams into Lightning.

Technorati tags: Iran, Middle East