ROSENBERG: Well, as I wrote about in the book, "Epicenter," the 12th Imam is the messiah. It's the Islamic messiah, whom Shia Muslims — not Sunni Muslims — but the Shia Muslims of Iran and Lebanon, believe will come back in the end of days.

But in order to bring about this Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, the 12th Imam, Islamic leaders need to hasten his coming by destroying little Satan, Israel, and the great Satan, the United States. And this is what is dangerous. It's because these leaders of Iran, currently, not all the people of Iran. But the leaders actually believe they need to create bloody carnage, the death of millions of people in order to create the conditions for the Mahdi to bring peace.

BECK: I mean, this is an M & M... "So anyway, we're just going to bring chaos to the Middle East and watch the world in blood. And then the Mahdi comes back and rules from ancient Babylon." M & M? Yes. We'll back with more in a second because wait until you hear what the name of the missile was or the rocket and the satellite. It all ties together in a spooky sort of way. Next.

BECK: If you look at the extremist Muslim version of the Mahdi and then you read the book of revelation, he suspiciously looks like the anti- Christ.
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In November, the country was startled by a video showing Mr Ahmadinejad telling a cleric that he had felt the hand of God entrancing world leaders as he delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly last September.

When an aircraft crashed in Teheran last month, killing 108 people, Mr Ahmadinejad promised an investigation. But he also thanked the dead, saying: "What is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow."

The most remarkable aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad's piety is his devotion to the Hidden Imam, the Messiah-like figure of Shia Islam, and the president's belief that his government must prepare the country for his return.

One of the first acts of Mr Ahmadinejad's government was to donate about £10 million to the Jamkaran mosque, a popular pilgrimage site where the pious come to drop messages to the Hidden Imam into a holy well.

All streams of Islam believe in a divine saviour, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. A common rumour - denied by the government but widely believed - is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a "contract" pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran.

Iran's dominant "Twelver" sect believes this will be Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.

He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.

This is similar to the Christian vision of the Apocalypse. Indeed, the Hidden Imam is expected to return in the company of Jesus.

Mr Ahmadinejad appears to believe that these events are close at hand and that ordinary mortals can influence the divine timetable.

The prospect of such a man obtaining nuclear weapons is worrying. The unspoken question is this: is Mr Ahmadinejad now tempting a clash with the West because he feels safe in the belief of the imminent return of the Hidden Imam? Worse, might he be trying to provoke chaos in the hope of hastening his reappearance?

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Iran says it has successfully test launched a mid-range surface-to-surface missile, state media have reported.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Sajjil-2 missile used "advanced technology" and had landed on target.

He was speaking in Semnan, from where the missile, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), was reportedly launched.

The US confirmed the launch had taken place, and reiterated that President Barack Obama was "concerned" about Iran's missile development.

Analysts say the test may be seen as provocative by Iran's Arab neighbours and its opponents in the West.

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The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says the Sajjil-2 is one of Iran's longest range rockets, able to reach Israel and US bases in the Gulf, and the launch is likely to be criticised by the West.

It is hard to tell whether the launch was deliberately provocative, but the fact that it was announced by the president means it is probably intended as a political message, says our correspondent.


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Iran says its missile development programme is solely for defensive and scientific purposes, but critics say the rockets could one day be used to deliver nuclear warheads, although Iran denies its nuclear programme has any military dimension.

The announcement of the launch came shortly after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was confirmed as one of the four candidates cleared to stand in Iran's 12 June presidential elections.

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