Saeed Jalili and Kamran Bagheri Lankarani two principalist presidential candidate met this afternoon in Jalili’s office.

After the meeting, Lankarani, who is backed by Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, issued a statement calling for unity between principalist candidates.

After Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili registered for the upcoming Iran’s presidential election, Lankarani said in an interview that there is no difference between their stance and only one of them will stay in the presidential race.

Political analysts believe that the principlist candidates will show more unity to boost their chance of winning the race.

Afkar, a news website close to Alireza Zakani, a pricipalist presidential hopeful also reported that he likely will withdraw in favor of Jalili tomorrow.

Ali-Akbar Velayati and Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel, two presidential hopeful and members of Coalition of 2+1 Iran’s presidential hopeful also said after Jalili’s registration that it is likely for the principlist candidates to unite around the country’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in the upcoming presidential election.

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Scores of people are stepping up for the presidency as we are witnessing more than 38 would-be candidates from the three major political parties in Iran, Principalists, Reformists and pro-governments, have registered as candidates.

Perhaps one of the significant turning points in Iran’s recent politics was the last minute registration of the three well-known figures: Saeed Jalili, secretary of the National Security Council, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the expediency council and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, top advisor to the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Most analysts consider Jalili’s unforeseen appearance as the most important. They believe Hashemi Rafsanjani is the experienced man who knows the ropes and it was nothing new to Iranian voters. In the eyes of the people, Mashaei is another Ahmadinejad, as he himself said, “Ahmadinejad means Mashaei and Mashaei means Ahmadinejad.”

But who is Saeed Jalili?

Jalili graduated from one of the most important institutes of Iran, Imam Sadigh University which is headed by Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, the current chairman of the Assembly of Experts. He went to war with Iraq in the 80s and one of his legs was amputated. But that didn’t stop him from continuing his studies.

His service as the secretary of Iran’s NSC and his handling of the sensitive nuclear program would be the most important job Jalili ever had.

“I had my high school diploma in 1983 and came to Tehran [from Mashhad] to study at the Imam Sadigh University. I received my MA in 1989 and applied for a PhD abroad. But at the same time I was recruited into the Foreign Ministry so I decided to study my PhD at Imam Sadigh University in political sociology. From 1992 to 1998 I was head of the inspection office of the foreign ministry,” Saeed Jalili wrote in his biography.

He also was in charge of one of the offices of the Supreme Leader for 4 years.

why is Jalili’s candidacy important?

Jalili 48, doesn’t  have much executive experience and is mostly seen as a diplomat. however he is very popular among Iranian voters. The Internet is filled with posters and articles supporting him and even some of the famous candidates said they are ready to step aside in favor of him.

One day after Jalili’s registration, many Principalists faced numerous questions on how they perceive his candidacy. Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, former MP and a known Pricipalist candidate welcomed Jalili’s candidacy and said, it’s possible that our coalition of 2+1 (Adel, Mohammad- Bagher Ghalibaf and Ali Akbar Velayati) will support Jalili altogether.

Another candidate, Alireza Zakani said he is ready to unite with Jalili. The Jebheye Paydari front which is led by Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yzdi, a senior cleric from Qom, cited Jalili’s candidacy as being productive and helpful.

Being in the National Security Council since 2007, Jalili has become a symbol of the resistance against the demands of the west on the nuclear issue and has been leading the iranian team in negotiations with the EU and USA (P5+1).

Jalili sat down with the foreign policy authorities of Europe, China and Russia several times and boasted about  Iran’s advancement in nuclear technology as the officials of the US council of foreign policy have reportedly stated their concerns of pressures on Iran being fruitless.

 Twice Jalili rejected an invitation from a US representative in the P5+1 to have bilateral meetings . For Iranians, this shows he can confront the US.

The First time he was in Geneva when William Burns, indirectly asked him for talks, through the foreign Minister of Switzerland. The Iranian delegation rejected this and demanded a public hearing in the P5+1 meeting but the US representative wanted Jalili to listen to him anyway. finally they had a one-by-one sidebar conservation.

When back home, Saeed Jalili said, no one should act out of accord with the Supreme Leader’s will. It was perhaps an indication that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized Jalili’s bilateral talk with the American undersecretary of state. So in the next rounds of talks Jalili avoided to hold bilateral talks with Americans.

In Iran, Jalili is seen as a politician close to Iran’s Leader who demands Iran’s strong role in politics and economics. He reiterated several times that the key to Iran’s success and progress, is resistance and this word is what Ayatollah Khamenei underlines in all of his speeches.

Public opinion has responded positively to Jalili’s candidacy as several people’s committees formed independent election campaigns supporting him.

Iranian people don’t have a negative memory of him, because he was never involved in domestic politics. While Hashemi’s past is filled with failures (of course along with successes) and this can be a winner for Jalili, as it was for Ahmadinejad in 2005 when his opponent was Hashemi.

*Masoud Foroghi is a student political activist and an editor of the Iranian University Student news website.

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Iran’sView: As we get closer to the eleventh presidential election in Iran, the activities of individuals, groups, parties, and coalitions have been increasing significantly and influential figures and parties talk more about the election.

Fundamentalist, Reformists, and a group called the Supporters of the Government are the three main parties who are now preparing for the presidential election.

Fundamentalists and the 2+1 coalition

It was in mid-December when GholamAli Haddad Adel, MP and politician close to Iran’s Leader, announced the establishment of a coalition among the Fundamentalists. The news broadly spread in the country’s political atmosphere.

The new coalition was named “2+1”, including Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, Ali Akbar Velayati (former foreign minister and the leader’s advisor on international affairs), and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf (the Mayor of Tehran).

It seems that the fundamentalists again have turned to the strategy of coalition that has become one of their political traditions in the last decade. This strategy was picked by the Fundamentalists during the second round of the Islamic Councils of Cities and Villages in early 2000s when they were noticeably successful with the establishment of a coalition named “Abadgarane Irane Islami” (or the Builders of the Islamic Iran).

“The Coordinating Council of the Revolution’s Forces” in 2005 presidential election, the “5+6” coalition in parliamentary elections in 2007, and the “7+8” coalition in parliamentary elections in 2011 are examples of the main coalitions formed by the Fundamentalists.

Although the Fundamentalist coalition or the Coordination Council of Revolution’s forces could not succeed in 2005 presidential election and did not announce a single candidate but then the three fundamentalist candidates avoided entering the race and thus Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could win the election.

Now that the 2+1 coalition is established, Iran’s Parliament Speaker has reacted and stated that the coalition is not based on the consensus of all fundamentalists. MohammadReza Bahonar, Vice Speaker, has also called for the inclusion of more figures in the coalition.

On the other hand Mohsen Rezaei, and Manouchehr Mottaki, former foreign minister under Ahmadinejad have announced their candidacy as independent figures. There has also been news about the candidacy of Mostafa PourMohammadi, and some other figures close to the fundamentalists.

Fundamentalists and Jebheye Paydari (Stability Front)

In 2011, a number of Fundamentalists including former members of Ahmadinezad administration and a group of MPs established Jebheye Paydarie Enqelabe Eslami (the Stability Front of the Islamic Republic) with the support of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. The Stability front won a number of seats in the parliament.

The fact that members of the Stability were former members of the government administration and parliament is considered to be a strongpoint by the party itself. The most important feature of this party is their disaccord with Hashemi Rafsanjani, setting them at the opposite point to his views.

Some of the Fundamentalists who don’t have good relations with the government believe that the claim that the Stability Front only supports the healthy part of the government is part of and in line with Ahmadinejad’s administration strategy. Assadollah Badamchian the head of Motalefe party said a while ago that “Supporting Ahmadinejad while not supporting Mashaei is a funny joke”.

Kamran Baqeri Lankarani, the speaker of the Stability Front has dismissed claims over the group’s support for Mashaei, Ahmadinejad’s Advisor, saying “We have no common candidate with the movement that supports the government’s election team.”

Currently Kmaran Baqeri Lankarani (former Health Minister), Parviz Fattah (former Energy Minister under Ahmadinejad’s first administration), and Saeed Jalil are considered as the candidates for Stability Front.  

The group called Hamiane Doulat (“The Supporters of Government”)

Although Ahmadinejad once told reporters that “we don’t think about the election’s candidates even for a moment”, many political observers believe that he would not easily hand down the presidency to a person with no inclination towards him. During a chat in the Iranian state TV when the host used the phrase “the last year of the government”, Ahmadinejad reacted with a grin and said “Who said it is the last year of the government?”

Some political observers believe Ahmadinejad’s supports for controversial figures like Mashaei and vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi are pieces of puzzle of his step-to-step strategy.

It is said that Ahmdinejad’s choice for presidential candidacy is Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. Mashaei’soffice however has denied his candidacy.

GholamHossein Elham, Government speaker, Ali Nikzad, the Housing Minister, Kamran Daneshjo, the Minister of Science, and Ali Akbar Salehi, Foreign Minister, are possible candidates supported by Ahmadinejad.

The Stability Front and the 2+1 coalition are rivals inside the Fundamentalist groups, with both having the same view in opposition to Government and the Reformists.

Reformists

 The possible candidates of Hashemi’s electoral plan, known as “National Unity” or “National Rescue” are seen more often in the news.

Ayatollah Hashemi who entered the electoral arena with his “Free Election” slogan, met with Ali Akbar Nateq Noori, a well-known clergyman and a member of Rohaniat Mobarez. “I am in touch with revolution forces, figures in Bazar (well-known businessmen), and the clergymen. They express their worries over the way you are treated. Come to the scene openly and we all support you,” said Nateq Noori in the meeting.

Previous elections show that whenever Hashemi enters the electoral arena openly he himself or those under his support have failed (like in the sixth round of parliamentary elections, or the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections). This time, however he is determined to have an effective presence. “I’ll be present in the scene of the eleventh presidential election fearlessly and will influence the election,” a reformist paper quoted Hashemi as saying in response to Nateq Noori. The newspaper claimed that “National Unity Government” holds sessions with the presence of Hashemi, Nateq Noori, and former president Mohammad khatami, and that one of the three members of the “national unity triangle” would be announced as the candidate for presidency.

There are other speculations which say the national unity triangle would announce another figure likeHassan Rohani as their candidate.

These days Hashemi family is significantly and seriously involved in the political arena. “We should say that Rohani’s candidacy for presidential election is definite. Moderation is now a public demand and his 36-year records show he has always observed moderation and had good relations with all political groups,” Yasser Hashemi, one of the sons of the family, said in support for Rohani’s candidacy. His remarks come as some consider Khatami as the main choice of Hashemi for presidential candidacy.

It should be noted that the reformists, especially “Mousavi Khoiniha” have clearly understood that boycotting the elections is not beneficial for them. Once they said “If we don’t come there would be no competition and rivalry so the people’s participation would be reduced” but now they have come to this conclusion that they should enter the election even with one candidate as they now have learnt from past experiences like the ninth round of parliamentary elections. Although figures like Saeed Hajjarian talked of decrease in the spirit of reform even among the heads of reformists, some like Majid Ansari and GolamHossein Karbaschi, former mayor of Tehran and a member of Kargozaran would like to gain power through the reformists coming to the power.

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