Ex-Iranian President Ahmadinejad's Guatemala Travel Plans Thwarted

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the airport in Tehran on October 5, 2023
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the airport in Tehran on October 5, 2023

Security authorities at Imam Khomeini Airport in Iran thwarted former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's trip to Guatemala, seizing his passport and giving him a travel ban.

Stopped by IRGC intelligence officers, Ahmadinejad was traveling to a scientific and research symposium on water resource management, as a guest of the government and the University of Guatemala.

There has long been talk of a travel ban on Ahmadinejad, however, even before the latest designation. Back in 2021, rumors began of the ban being lifted when he took a trip to Dubai, visiting the Dubai Expo. The trip was cut short by Tehran after the former president began making statements claiming to be the voice of the Iranian people, a press conference in the UAE's party capital being canceled for fear of his gaining political capital and Ahmadinejad swiftly brought back to Iran.

However, the rumors may now be true, the former president designated by the US Department of the Treasury last month, facing allegations concerning the fate of Robert Levinson, a US national who vanished in 2006 after flying from Dubai to Iran's Kish Island. Despite no conclusive information regarding his whereabouts, the US government believes he may have died while in Iranian custody.

Ahmadinejad served as the President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. The DOT claims "During Ahmadinejad’s term in office, MOIS [Ministry of Intelligence and Security] was involved in the detention of several US nationals, including former Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) special agent Robert “Bob” Levinson, as well as three US hikers: Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal, and Sarah Shourd."

However, media outlets tied to the Islamic Republic have reported that it is "Guatemala's fragile political climate" and "security concerns" which led to the stoppage, Ahmadinejad a member of the Expediency Council and an official political figure. "He has been strongly advised against undertaking the journey, taking into account international sanctions and the risk of detention," Khabar Online claimed.