But mostly, as I sat on that rock meditating, I thought of all those paintings locked up in Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and I thought: You are the president of Iran. You probably have the key.

As I sat on this rock by the sea yesterday and thought about your great Persian culture and the transforming power of beauty, I wondered where you find beauty today — in the faces of your wife and your children, in your private moments together, in a few cherished objects in your house? Does that sense of beauty accompany you throughout the day, or does it drop away as you enter the harsh realm of judgment and calculation that makes up your political life?

Art has the power to transform a human soul. You should look at more art.

I imagine there wasn’t a lot of art around in the village where you grew up. You had to work hard to survive. You have struggled to gain what you have. I can identify with that — the feeling that others have more, that others do not worry about their next meal, that others do not get it, that you have had to endure things no one has any inkling of, and that therefore when people you do not even know tell you what you should do, their speech reeks of impossible arrogance and ignorance and presumption. I can imagine how that feels, and I do not wish to be lumped in with those who ignorantly presume to tell you what to do. You are the leader of a great nation. I am just a guy who writes letters to people.

I can also imagine that, while I believe in the redemptive power of art, seeing beautiful things might not work on you the way it does on others but might instead fill you with the pain of deprivation, because in the past beautiful things only reminded you of all the things you could not have. So it may seem frivolous to suggest that art could change anything. And yet, as I sat on that rock with that fisherman, that was all I could think of — your great architecture and poetry, and all that art locked up in that museum in Tehran.

Now, I am not a political person, and I do not give orders to others or attempt to outwit or out-argue others about matters of policy. I simply try to understand.

I am trying to understand how you feel about your own great power. I sense that it grieves you that the West does not respect your power.

I think you are probably right that the West does not really show the kind of respect your power merits. But there is something about us Americans I want you to know, something that no one will really tell you because no one seems to really believe it: Since 9/11 we have been a terribly aggrieved people, mad with grief, and the craziness of our politics has to do with this shock and grief, for we were not prepared for this grief, and we are not handling it well, for we are a young and spoiled people to whom great power came suddenly and easily and we have never had to husband our sorrow together like this. We don’t know what to do. We are sentimental and unsubtle, and we are having a bit of a tantrum over here. We lack restraint and act like children. I know we do. And we lord our power over everyone else. It’s true. We are children.

But we are dangerous, too, and I know that is what concerns you. It is what concerns us, as well — that you are dangerous and opaque to us, that we have no idea what you are really planning and thinking.

We are a danger to others and a danger to ourselves. And so are you. You know, when wondering if someone should be locked up, mental health practitioners ask: “Are you a danger to yourself or to others?” Perhaps we should be locked up for a period of time, actually, while we do our millennial grieving for our former glorious hegemony, but that is neither here nor there, is it? For here we are, rattling our sabers, demanding you behave.

The thing about a deep and terrible grievance is that it warps everything around it so that nothing can escape and nothing can be seen; in the grip of a righteous grievance we become truly blind and cannot see what is beautiful.

So we are in the same boat. You are blind and we are blind, and we are yelling at each other and threatening each other.

When one can no longer see beauty, one might as well be dead. And if the world is run by men who have lost their love of beauty, well, such men might just plunge us all into darkness.

The one thing that keeps us from being even worse monsters than we are is our childish love of entertainment. In fact, in addition to you, there is something else I haven’t been able to get out of my mind as well, and that is the song “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” as sung by Jackie Wilson, but lately as sung by the three remaining young female singers on “American Idol.” Do you get cable? You don’t even need cable, actually. It’s a network show. I think it’s on Fox, but who notices anymore. We just set our machines to record.

Oh well. Everyone has an argument for everything. Between your arguments and the arguments of America and all the others, what have I got that can affect anything at all? Poised against the awful majesty of atomic weapons are just my thin mysticism of nature, my California nonchalance, my 12 steps and my forgiveness, my belief in redemption: None of this is going to make any difference to you and other world leaders.

On the other hand: Is this you with your soccer team in 1976?

You do not seem so different from the rest of us.

But my guess is that you have been prevented, by the demands of your office and by the structure of your own personality, from looking into your own heart and divining the wisdom to be found there. You have a religion which you practice fervently, but you do not have a personal connection to anything outside yourself.

So you cannot see that your methods — and I don’t mean just yours, Mr. Ahmadinejad, but America’s as well — will only lead to more bloodshed and destruction.

I understand this. I do not think I have a solution. That is what fills me with despair. What also fills me with despair as I write to you is that I do not think that you are going to change. I do not think the others with whom you are locked in struggle are going to change, either.

Yet I know change is possible. That is what drives me mad: I know human change is possible and good. I have seen this. I see it every day. I see people driven by their demons to reckless destruction who finally find a way to calm down, to sit by the sea or by a reflecting pool and calm down and find a way out of torment, by giving a little, by being clever and yielding and yet strong.

It happens all the time among the humble and the poor. Yet it only rarely happens among men in positions of power!

Why is that? Why is it that men in power find it so hard to give up even a tiny part of their power in order to grow in their own wisdom and compassion? Is it because too much is at stake? Is it that you cannot risk giving up even a tiny bit of what you claim to have for risk of losing the will of your people, of letting them down? Is that why men drive their people into insane wars rather than risk ask their people to give up even a fraction of what they believe they already have?

It seems as if those of us who are powerless in the world — meaning me and most of the rest of us billions of people — find our fate in the hands of men driven not by concern for our welfare but by some dark inner need all their own.

Can that ever change? Is that what power always does?

To admit that your approach to the world arises out of some personal insufficiency would make you a better leader. It would make any leader better to see clearly whose needs are being met in his great symbolic power games. But it would feel like a loss of some sort — wouldn’t it? — to admit that your actions arise not out of some worldly and knowing wisdom and compassion for your people but out of a personal need to be seen as powerful. It would mean giving up the very things that allow you to keep pushing aside that personal insufficiency, that shame and fear of death, that longing for connection and respect. So you are not likely to do it. And the world is likely to continue in its agonizing and neurotic spiral.

That is why I have become so melancholy as I write to you. That is why even Jackie Wilson and American Idol cannot cheer me up.

The tragedy of leadership is that the personal becomes the political, but not in a good way: Our longing for destruction can become the destruction of a whole people, a whole city, a whole nation. And yet there is very little inside the world of power to hold us back. So here we are:

You hold the keys to world events. But I am thinking about a different set of keys. I am thinking about that art in the Tehran museum, assembled by the Shah before the Islamic Revolution. Say what you will about the Shah, he had some good taste. You are the president. You must have the key! Or you know somebody who has the key. It is within your power to go down there where all those paintings are and just have a few pulled out for you to look at. Wouldn’t that be a nice thing on a stressful afternoon, to go down there and look at all that art?

That’s what it’s all about, my man, Mr. Ahmadinejad, whose name is hard to spell and sounds like a sneeze. That’s what it’s all about: The simple pleasures in life.

Please, do not get too far from the simple, sensual pleasures of life. They may save you, and all of us, these little moments.

So look at those paintings, and perhaps your heart will be filled a little.

There is something healing in beauty. The destruction of beauty is a disease of the world.

When you are frightened and angry, go look at those paintings. Beauty can help. Maybe it will save the world.

“So just be quiet and sit down.
The reason is: you are drunk,
And this is the edge of the roof.”
Rumi

Both presidents denounced U.S. “imperialism” and said their opponents will not be able to impede cooperation between Iran and Venezuela.

Iran’s state TV quoted both Ahmadinejad and Chavez as calling their relationship a “strategic alliance” that would eliminate the current global order.

“Iran and Venezuela are united to establish a new world order based on humanity and justice,” Ahmadinejad said, repeating his predictions that those who today seek “world domination are on the verge of collapse.”

Chavez said this is a time of “great threats” that make its necessary to swiftly “consolidate strategic alliances in political, economic, technological, energy and social areas,” according to the state-run Venezuelan News Agency.

Details of the latest accords were not released, and Chavez said some agreements went beyond those put on paper. He said a Venezuelan delegation will soon travel to Iran to follow up on the agreements.

Iran has become the closest Middle East ally to Chavez’s government as the left-leaning leader has sought to build international alliances to counter what he sees as U.S. economic and political dominance.

“Imperialism has entered a decisive phase of decline and … is headed, like elephants, to its graveyard,” Chavez said, according to the Venezuelan state news agency.

Chavez has staunchly defended Iran’s nuclear energy program, siding with Tehran by insisting it is for peaceful uses and not for nuclear bombs.

U.S. officials have worried Iran may be using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons. Four rounds of U.N. sanctions, as well as broader severe U.S. and European Union sanctions have not persuaded Tehran to halt the program.

Chavez also has plans to develop a nuclear energy program in Venezuela and last week signed an agreement for Russia to help build a reactor.

Without mentioning the countries’ nuclear ambitions, Chavez said his government demands respect for Iran’s sovereignty and that “those who think they are most powerful and want to impose their will on the world respect Iran.”

Chavez’s trip to Iran was his ninth as president. He arrived after stops in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and was to travel next to Syria, as well as Libya and Portugal.

The two oil-producing countries both belong to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. In recent years, the two have also set up joint ventures to produce cars, tractors and bicycles in the South American country.

——

Associated Press Writer Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, however, never mentioned the Millennium Development Goals in his speech to the 192-member General Assembly.

Instead, he took aim at capitalism and called for the overhaul of “undemocratic and unjust” global decision-making bodies, which are dominated by the United States and other Western powers. While Ahmadinejad didn’t single out any country, he said world leaders, thinkers and global reformers should “spare no effort” to make practical plans for a new world order — reform of international economic and political institutions.

“It is my firm belief that in the new millennium, we need to revert to the divine mindset…based on the justice-seeking nature of mankind, and on the monotheistic world view…,” the Iranian leader said in a brief speech intertwining philosophy and religion with the current state of the world. “Now that the discriminatory order of capitalism and the hegemonic approaches are facing defeat.”

Ahmadinejad proposed that the United Nations name the coming 10 years “the decade for the joint global governance.”

Soon afterward, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the world’s fourth-largest economic power, took an opposite tack, likely speaking for the rest of the capitalist world.

Stressing that “the primary responsibility for development lies with the governments of the developing countries,” she said the key to economic prosperity was good governance and a flourishing capitalist economy.

“The countries themselves must promote the development of a market economy…for without self-sustaining economic growth developing countries will find the road out of poverty and hunger too steep to travel,” Merkel said.

The German leader said international assistance can’t substitute for domestic resources, warned that “development aid cannot continue indefinitely” and declared that “support for good governance is as important as aid itself.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the world is “on track” to cut extreme poverty by half, the No. 1 goal, though some critics say it’s mainly because of the big strides in China and India. Many recent reports show that the world’s poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, have made little progress in eradicating poverty.

And in Africa, Asia and Latin America there also has been a lack of progress in meeting other key goals: reducing mother and child deaths, increasing the number of people with access to basic sanitation, and promoting women’s equality. Ban is expected to launch a new initiative Wednesday to spur action on improving the lot of women and children.

In his speech, Ahmadinejad did not mention Iran’s nuclear program or the four rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions over Tehran’s refusal to prove it is not trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran claims it is only working on nuclear power to generate electricity.

The subject may be raised again Thursday when the General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting begins.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov raised the sanctions issue in his speech, saying U.N. sanctions were not intended to harm ordinary civilians. He voiced “serious concern” at additional sanctions imposed by individual countries. The criticism appeared aimed at the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea, all of whom have imposed their own much tougher sanctions on Tehran.

“We are convinced that such practice contradicts the efforts to achieve the MDGs and must be brought to an end,” Lavrov said, using the initials of the Millennium Development Goals.

To counter these threats, Lavrov said Russia was ready to help with information and communication technology “to bridge the gap between the developed and developing countries and — as a result — to promote global development.”

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, one of the world’s poorest nations that has made progress because of the goals, said Africa “still has far to go” but if efforts are intensified “we will, ultimately, achieve them.”

“My message is this: As we renew our resolve in 2010, we must recognize the need for inclusive economic growth. We need rapid, stable, and sustained growth that creates jobs, especially for youth and in sectors that benefit the poor, and expands opportunities for women,” she said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said until a few years ago his country was on track to achieve a number of the MDGs, but the fight against terrorism and the recent unprecedented flooding “have changed almost everything.”

The MDGs remain “the centerpiece” of Pakistan’s development program, he said, but the rehabilitation of flood-ravaged areas will cost billions and will impact economic recovery and achievement of the U.N. goals.

At events on the sidelines of the summit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a program to address chronic malnutrition blamed for 3.5 million maternal and child deaths a year. The program, co-sponsored by the Irish government, focuses on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, during which nutrition is critical to mental and physical development.

Later, Clinton helped launch a new program to place cleaner cooking stoves in 100 million homes by 2020. She said unsafe stoves expose as many as three billion people to toxic chemicals and smoke, and upgrading them can save and improve “millions of lives.”

The president later gave his speech as planned, and it was broadcast live on state television. He made no mention of the attack in his remarks, focusing instead on the country’s disputed nuclear program.

He struck a hard line against Western demands that Iran halt its nuclear activities. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons, but Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

“It will be one of your big mistakes if you think you, resorting to lies and hue and cry, are able to achieve something and we will give you any concession,” Ahmadinejad told the crowd at the Hamedan stadium.

One person was arrested in connection with the attack, the website report said, adding that Ahmadinejad’s car was about 100 yards (meters) from the blast. It also said there was no information whether anyone was injured.

“The explosion caused a lot of smoke,” the report said.

Iran’s state-run Press TV, the government’s main English-language broadcast arm, said an informed source in Ahmadinejad’s office vehemently denied the allegation, insisting “no such attack had happened.”

Ahmadinejad, whose popularity at home is waning amid a faltering economy and tightened U.N. and Western sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program, regularly tours the countryside to deliver speeches to grass-roots supporters in cities and town across Iran.

A U.S.-Iran relations specialist, Jim Walsh with the MIT program on security studies, said that “Iran has a strong interest in trying to minimize this event, given the domestic problems following last year’s unrest over the presidential election.”

Walsh stressed that assassinations have been a staple of Iranian politics in the past and that while there have been attempts on other Iranian officials, there’s been no known such attack on Ahmadinejad.

Several media outlets differed in the details about what happened.

The semiofficial Fars news agency said a handmade grenade was thrown at the path where the president and his entourage had been but only after they had left the site. Fars said the explosion disturbed people at the site.

The government-owned Borna news agency said somebody threw a firecracker after the convoy had passed, while the semiofficial Mehr news agency called it a handmade percussion grenade.

A photo by the semiofficial Isna news agency showed smoke dozens of yards away from the convoy, which was surrounded by people. It did not elaborate on the source of the smoke.

Hamedan, 200 miles (340 kilometers) west of Tehran, is not known as a restive area, but it is close to Kurdish area of Iran that has witnessed occasional clashes between Kurdish rebels and security forces over the past years.

Ahmadinejad also said Monday during a speech that Israel had sent agents to assassinate him, but he gave no details.

The accusation came a day after another conservative Iranian website, Mashreghnews.ir, reported that security forces had detained a terrorist group in Tehran that planned to assassinate officials. It linked the group to Kurdish separatists.

In May, Ahmadinejad was jeered by a crowd demanding jobs when he was speaking during a similar visit to the southern Iranian town of Khorramshahr.

In 2005, bandits reportedly killed a bodyguard of Ahmadinejad during his visit to restive Sistan-Baluchistan province in southeastern Iran. However, the president had left the province before the attack occurred.

——

Associated Press Writer Katarina Kratovac contributed to this report from Cairo.