Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saeed Jalili, an ardent ideologue loyal to Iran’s supreme chief, plans to deal with the nation’s society by strictly adhering to the hard-line beliefs of the 1979 Islamic revolution after profitable Iran’s presidential election. , political and financial ills.
Jalili was narrowly defeated by average Massoud Pezeshkian within the first spherical of voting on Friday, however the pair will now face a run-off on July 5 as Pezeshkian ( Pezeshkian did not get hold of the 50% majority and the one vote wanted for outright victory.
Jalili, a former diplomat, calls himself a religious believer in “velayat-e faqih,” or supreme authorized rule, the Islamic system of presidency that gives the idea for the supremacy of Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
His staunch protection of the 45-year-old Islamic revolution seems designed to attraction to hardline, religious, low-income voters however does little to assist younger and concrete Iranians pissed off by restrictions on political and social freedoms.
Jalili, 58, as soon as Iran’s high nuclear negotiator, is certainly one of 4 candidates within the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who was elected in Might died in a helicopter crash.
He’s presently a member of the physique that mediates disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council, which screens election candidates for his or her political and Islamic {qualifications}.
Analysts say Jalili is a staunch anti-Western determine and his entry into the second spherical indicators a probably extra hostile shift within the Islamic Republic’s international and home insurance policies.
Overseas and nuclear coverage are the purview of Khamenei, who holds supreme command of the armed forces, has the ability to declare conflict and appoint senior figures together with the commander of the armed forces, the minister of justice and the pinnacle of the state media.
Nonetheless, the president can affect the tone of international and home coverage.
Insiders and analysts say Khamenei, 85, seeks a deeply loyal president to run the day-to-day affairs of the federal government and be a trusted ally to make sure stability over an eventual successor.
uncompromising stance
Jalili opposed Tehran’s 2015 nuclear cope with main powers, which was negotiated on Iran’s half by a bunch of pragmatic officers prepared to average with the West.
Then-President Donald Trump reneged on the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that had crippled Iran’s economic system. With Trump more likely to return to the White Home after the US presidential election in November, and with Jalili more likely to win the election, a revival of the deal appears unlikely.
Earlier than signing the nuclear deal, Jalili served as Iran’s high nuclear negotiator for 5 years beginning in 2007, throughout which period Tehran adopted a confrontational and uncompromising strategy when discussing its uranium enrichment program with world powers.
Throughout these years, the United Nations Safety Council imposed three resolutions on Iran and several other makes an attempt to resolve the dispute failed.
In the course of the present marketing campaign, Jalili has been harshly criticized by different candidates in debates on state tv for his uncompromising nuclear stance and opposition to Iran signing two monetary crime conventions beneficial by worldwide crime watchdog the Monetary Motion Activity Power. .
Some hardliners, equivalent to Jalili, consider that acceptance of the Conference in opposition to the Financing of Terrorism and the Conference in opposition to Transnational Organized Crime may hamper Iran’s assist for its paramilitary proxies within the area, together with Lebanese Hezbollah.
product of revolution
Jalili has been operating for president for years. He completed third within the 2013 occasion and stood once more in 2021, however in the end withdrew in favor of Lacey.
Jalili was born within the Shia Muslim holy metropolis of Mashhad in 1965. He misplaced his proper leg in the course of the Iran-Iraq Warfare within the Nineteen Eighties and joined the Ministry of Overseas Affairs in 1989. gentle.
He earned a doctorate in political science from Imam Sadiq College, a coaching floor for Iranian leaders, the place he wrote an article titled ” Analysis report on the Overseas Coverage of the Prophet of Islam. Ministry web site as soon as.
He labored in Khamenei’s workplace for 4 years beginning in 2001.
When hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005, he selected Jalili as his adviser and inside months named him deputy international minister.
Jalili was appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council in 2007, a place that mechanically made him chief nuclear negotiator.
