Ahmadinejad: Lie To Me

Having watched a number of Ahmadinejad’s interviews with Western media, I’ve found him extraordinarily slick and virtually unflappable.

Most notable is how he handled Bush apologist Scott Pelley in a 60 Minutes segment before attending last year’s General Assembly session. Having that as a baseline is actually particularly helpful to appreciate the ambush Ahmadinejad ran into Friday when, at the outset of a live interview with TIME, he discovered he’d been busted hiding the existence of a nuclear development facility from the U.N., not to mention the rest of the world.

In studying Ahmadinejad’s face as the interview proceeds, all the eye shifting and and intermittent throat tightening is telling. But if you want to really appreciate (and enjoy) Ahmadinejad’s anxiety breaking through, just keep an eye on the action at the left corner of his mouth (or, the right side as we face him).

(TIME video. Article: Ahmadinejad Rejects Obama’s Nuclear Warning)