The election in 2005 of an ultra-conservative, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, as President should be seen in the light of three main elements: the loss of credibility of reformers, the general disinterest of the middle class for politics and the widening of the social gap between the rich and the poor. Through his populist discourse, Ahmadinejad has succeeded in reaching out to the most needy. Inspired by the doctrinal sources of Khomeynism, he does not draw any dividing line between internal policy and external goals. He favors a militant Iran, with a revolutionary message and a foreign policy going beyond the pursuit of national interests.