October 18, 2007 | 12:44 am

Political music video mocks Ahmadinejad and nuclear weapons program

Posted by Karmel Melamed

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On a weekly basis I probably receive more than two dozen Iran related videos from various friends that are silly and pointless. Yet recently I was forwarded the above Persian language video of Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that is quite intriguing with its mocking political commentary about this man. An American friend who forwarded the video to me, asked me to translate the video and explain what was so funny about it because its message goes beyond the typical silly shtick you see on the Internet.

Those who don’t speak a word of Persian will obviously not understand the video, but it’s simply a political satire of Ahmadinejad and his involvement with Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The music and dance of the video are based on an old and popular Iranian children’s nursery rhyme called “Atal-Matal-Too-Too-Leh”. The song is quite similar to the American “Hokie-Pokie” song kids sing in grade school. This video is not only hilarious because Ahmadinejad’s character speaks in a high pitched child’s voice, but the lyrics of his song are filled with double meanings and puns regarding his failure to grasp the dangers of having a nuclear weapon. Aside from Ahmadinejad’s character doing his song and dance, a caricature version of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini also appears in the video as Ahmadinejad’s puppet master. In the video Khameini is referred to as “Seyyed Ali” and is the real powerhouse in Iran who is pulling the strings on Ahmadinejad. There are other political references in this video to the “NPT” or Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the “Agency” which is a reference to the U.N.‘s International Atomic Energy Agency”. In the course of the video, Ahmadinejad’s henchmen are thrown off a swing, that is probably a reference to the fact that Iran’s regime easily executes those who let them down—in this case it would be individuals involved in Iran’s nuclear program. The “Shahab” mentioned to in the song is a reference to Iran’s long range missile systems with the same name.

So you wonder who produced this video? Most likely it was made by one of the many pro-democracy groups in the U.S. who abhor Iran’s regime controlled by radical Islamic clerics. I can verify the source of the video because a small logo in the upper left hand corner of the video is of the famous “sun and lion” which was one of the symbols of Iran’s government prior to the Islamic revolution of 1979. Only those opposition groups sympathic to the regime of the late Shah typically use this symbol in their communications.

While some of lyrics of the song are not audible, I’ve taken the time to translate as much of them as I can. The translation to English obviously does not have the same funny meaning as it does in Persian:

“Atom-Atom-Too-Too-Leh”, I am Ahmadie the shortie…
I have a bomb that is nice and round and belongs to Mister Seyyed Ali…
Seyyed Ali told me ‘Ahmadie enjoy this bomb and place it ontop of a Shahab’. I didn’t know what I had with this (bomb) but with his help I made a mistake”.

“Mister Seyyed Ali made me stupid and he made me excited…
He said the world was too busy”.

“Atom-Atom-Too-Too-Leh”, I am Ahmadie the shortie…
I have a round bomb that belongs to Mister Seyyed Ali…
When I throw the bomb down, it goes up in the air and you can’t imagine how high it goes!”

“The bomb was being prepared, but someone exposed my pool of heavy water and I was turned upside down. The Agency and NPT came and sealed the place where the bomb was being made—it was as if I was hit over the head because I had failed”.

“Now get me a ticket, a ticket straight to the garbage can!”