Specifically, pure iron (FE) as a metal, holds more energy than the metal rust, iron oxide,

FeO2. In fact, almost all oxidation reactions release energy, as oxygen bonds with other
chemicals are generally low-energy bonds, and the oxygen-oxygen bond in O2 (atmospheric
oxygen) is a high energy bond. Fire from wood, and also oil, coal, and other petrochemicals
combines carbon-hydrogen compounds with oxygen, changing O2 to H2O and CO2. The
rusting process is parallel to that, turning Fe and O2 into FeO2 and releasing energy from
the O2 molecule as heat. You could say, poetically if perhaps not chemically, that rust is
burned iron.
Why doesnt iron flame into rust the way wood flames to ashes? Simply because the process
is slower and the heat dissipates without flame. In fact, steel wool will burn, producing rust,
as you see in the photo at the top.

When ammonium nitrate is dissolved in water, it produces an endothermic reaction,

i.e. energy is taken in by the system from its surroundings in the form of heat. When the
nitrate ion is separated from the ammonium ion by the polar water molecules, an
endothermic reaction takes place.
However, when the separated ions become hydrated in the solution, an exothermic
reaction reaction takes place - heat is given off, instead of absorbed. But since more
energy is required to separate the ions than to hydrate these ions, the overall reaction is
indeed endothermic.