Birds of a feather: Ahmadinejad pens letter to Trump

Former president of Iran, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, has written a lengthy open-letter to Donald Trump, in which he strikes a cordial if occasionally sanctimonious tone.

The letter covers a range of subjects, including the controversial executive order banning citizens of predominantly Muslim countries entering the US, and Trump's treatment of women.

Significantly, he applauds Trump's condemnation of American politics as venal and corrupt.

"Your Excellency has truthfully described the US political system and electoral structure as corrupt and anti-public," he writes.

Some see Trump as a politician in the same mould as Ahmadinejad, in that he is brash, populist, and fancies himself a man of the people.

Reading the letter, one gets the impression that Ahmadinejad also sees a lot of himself in Trump and takes his opportunity to give some presidential advice.

"Having been elected the US president is a historic opportunity primarily for the elected person and secondly for the electorates and other nations. Although four years is a long period, but it ends quickly. The opportunity needs to be valued, and all its moments need to be used in the best way," writes Ahmadinejad.

In the spirit of a letter that is touchingly humane, the former president takes the time to rebuke Trump's history of demeaning women.

"The great men of history have paid the highest level of respect to women and recognised their God-given capabilities," Ahmadinejad writes.

The whole letter can be read in its entirety in both English and Farsi on Ahmadinejad's personal website. Perhaps the most poignant message to Trump in the current context of heated rhetoric emanating from the White House is this:

"War instigates war, and peace is never established by war."