NBC shadows Ahmadinejad for 'day in the life' feature

Reporter Ann Curry shows Iranian president praying, exercising and meeting with poor masses from 5 a.m. until well after midnight.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ahmadinejad Exercising 311 (photo credit: Screen Shot)
Ahmadinejad Exercising 311
(photo credit: Screen Shot)
In the lead-up to next week's UN General Assembly in which he was scheduled to speak, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad allowed NBC's Ann Curry to shadow him in Iran for a feature entitled, "A Day in the Life of Iran's President."
The NBC feature shows Ahmadinejad beginning his day at 5 a.m. with morning prayers, before beginning his daily workout , jogging with security personnel and heading to the gym to lift weights. Concerned about staying healthy, the 54-year-old Iranian leader exercises for 30 minutes every morning, before arriving at his office prior to 7 a.m.
Upon arriving at his "spacious but simple" office, he scans local newspapers and briefs, including what western media are reporting.
According to the report, Ahmadinejad's day consists of meetings throughout the country. On the day in question, he met with a delegation of Shi'ite leaders, poor residents of a province on the country's border with Turkmenistan, people living in subsidized housing, a destitute man who lost three sons in the Iran-Iraq war and senior government ministers. Iran's poor masses are Ahmadinejad's base of support, according to the report. He is seen receiving praise from women for improvements in subsidized housing, but is swarmed by poor people asking for food and other necessities while entering his vehicle in another province.
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Ahmadinejad is shown traveling around the country in a 50-year-old 707 airplane. He has been to every province in the country at least three times, and to every city in each province. The report quotes aides to the Iranian leader as saying that a "hard-driving schedule" is the norm. He often works until 2 a.m., sleeping just three hours a night. Even Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has advised him to sleep more, according to the report.
Ahmadinejad's day ends after midnight, when he prays for the fifth time that day. When asked by Curry what he wants for Iran's future, the Iranian president says, "I want the same future as I want for every nation of the world, peace, friendship, happiness and unity."