Will it be Jalili vs. Rouhani again?[:fa]Will it be Jalili vs. Rouhani again?[:ar]Will it be Jalili vs. Rouhani again?

Prolonged nuclear talks between P5+1 and Iranian negotiators led by Saeed Jalili which seemed to be leading nowhere was the trump card Hassan Rouhani and his fellow presidential hopefuls used in last year’s elections against the top principlist candidate: Saeed Jalili. Positive developments in nuclear talks over the past year which culminated in the conclusion of an interim deal in Geneva prompted some principlists to take aim at the deal, both implicitly and explicitly. But the author of the short essay below, which was published in a 121^st issue of Hamshahri Mah Magazine, believes Saeed Jalili is conspicuous by his absence in the ranks of those who are critical of Hassan Rouhani and his top nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif. Is he waiting for the July 20 deadline and a possible failure of the interlocutors to draft a comprehensive deal to play his I-told-so card? Is he going to use the possible breakup of the nuclear negotiations as a lever in his bid to unseat his moderate rival: incumbent Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential polls? Here is the essay in its entirety:

“Barely has a year passed since Hassan Rouhani’s government took office, and the 12^th presidential election seems too far away. But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

“Jalili threw his hat in the ring ahead of the 11^th presidential election so unexpectedly that his own campaign, which was known as Campaign for Good Life, seemed to have been taken by surprise, something that rendered it unable to duly support the former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council’s bid for the top job. This time around, though, Saeed Jalili’s candidacy in the 12^th presidential election is predictable. Although in politics one cannot predict anything with certainty, Saeed Jalili’s provincial tours over the past year, particularly his back-to-back speeches in several towns on June 4 and 5 [2014 ], suggest he is likely to be a contender in the upcoming presidential elections. By fielding his candidacy in the previous vote, the top negotiator shifted the focus of presidential campaign to nuclear talks so that, as pundits put it, he could capitalize on this change in discourse. The division over the nuclear issue in the third debate and the bold swipe Velayati took at the way nuclear talks led by Saeed Jalili were being handled did nothing to benefit Velayati, but it did open the way for the acceptance of the criticism Rouhani directed at the trend of talks. So the turbaned diplomat eventually emerged victorious in the 11^th presidential elections. The 4 million-plus votes Jalili garnered in the polls, however, were pure and of high quality. The purity and high quality of the votes he secured are going to be the best prop for his likely run for president. The reason Jalili supporters put forth to persuade him to remain on the political scene is that the 4 million-plus votes he bagged came not on the back of months of intense campaigning, but in less than a month and that continued efforts in four years can definitely see that number rise and make Rouhani the first one-term president in the history of the Islamic Republic. Unlike other main critics of the Rouhani government such as Lankarani, who is rarely seen these days and is marginalized when compared to the months and years leading up to last year’s presidential elections, Saeed Jalili has never stepped off the political scene for timeout. Trips and speeches continue to be on top of his agenda. In these speeches, in addition to value-based principles of the Islamic Republic and the criteria one needs to meet to be a committed revolutionary, efforts to safeguard the nuclear achievements of the country and keep the nation on course of advancement, as far as nuclear technology is concerned, take center stage.

But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.

“In all fairness, one should admit that in mapping out his nuclear stance, Jalili has rarely blasted the performance of Rouhani’s government over the past 12 months. Even at a time when the media critical of the government took aim at the Geneva agreement, he did not lash out at Rouhani’s nuclear policy. But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.”

 [:fa]Prolonged nuclear talks between P5+1 and Iranian negotiators led by Saeed Jalili which seemed to be leading nowhere was the trump card Hassan Rouhani and his fellow presidential hopefuls used in last year’s elections against the top principlist candidate: Saeed Jalili. Positive developments in nuclear talks over the past year which culminated in the conclusion of an interim deal in Geneva prompted some principlists to take aim at the deal, both implicitly and explicitly. But the author of the short essay below, which was published in a 121^st issue of Hamshahri Mah Magazine, believes Saeed Jalili is conspicuous by his absence in the ranks of those who are critical of Hassan Rouhani and his top nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif. Is he waiting for the July 20 deadline and a possible failure of the interlocutors to draft a comprehensive deal to play his I-told-so card? Is he going to use the possible breakup of the nuclear negotiations as a lever in his bid to unseat his moderate rival: incumbent Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential polls? Here is the essay in its entirety:

“Barely has a year passed since Hassan Rouhani’s government took office, and the 12^th presidential election seems too far away. But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

“Jalili threw his hat in the ring ahead of the 11^th presidential election so unexpectedly that his own campaign, which was known as Campaign for Good Life, seemed to have been taken by surprise, something that rendered it unable to duly support the former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council’s bid for the top job. This time around, though, Saeed Jalili’s candidacy in the 12^th presidential election is predictable. Although in politics one cannot predict anything with certainty, Saeed Jalili’s provincial tours over the past year, particularly his back-to-back speeches in several towns on June 4 and 5 [2014 ], suggest he is likely to be a contender in the upcoming presidential elections. By fielding his candidacy in the previous vote, the top negotiator shifted the focus of presidential campaign to nuclear talks so that, as pundits put it, he could capitalize on this change in discourse. The division over the nuclear issue in the third debate and the bold swipe Velayati took at the way nuclear talks led by Saeed Jalili were being handled did nothing to benefit Velayati, but it did open the way for the acceptance of the criticism Rouhani directed at the trend of talks. So the turbaned diplomat eventually emerged victorious in the 11^th presidential elections. The 4 million-plus votes Jalili garnered in the polls, however, were pure and of high quality. The purity and high quality of the votes he secured are going to be the best prop for his likely run for president. The reason Jalili supporters put forth to persuade him to remain on the political scene is that the 4 million-plus votes he bagged came not on the back of months of intense campaigning, but in less than a month and that continued efforts in four years can definitely see that number rise and make Rouhani the first one-term president in the history of the Islamic Republic. Unlike other main critics of the Rouhani government such as Lankarani, who is rarely seen these days and is marginalized when compared to the months and years leading up to last year’s presidential elections, Saeed Jalili has never stepped off the political scene for timeout. Trips and speeches continue to be on top of his agenda. In these speeches, in addition to value-based principles of the Islamic Republic and the criteria one needs to meet to be a committed revolutionary, efforts to safeguard the nuclear achievements of the country and keep the nation on course of advancement, as far as nuclear technology is concerned, take center stage.

But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.

“In all fairness, one should admit that in mapping out his nuclear stance, Jalili has rarely blasted the performance of Rouhani’s government over the past 12 months. Even at a time when the media critical of the government took aim at the Geneva agreement, he did not lash out at Rouhani’s nuclear policy. But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.”

 [:ar]Prolonged nuclear talks between P5+1 and Iranian negotiators led by Saeed Jalili which seemed to be leading nowhere was the trump card Hassan Rouhani and his fellow presidential hopefuls used in last year’s elections against the top principlist candidate: Saeed Jalili. Positive developments in nuclear talks over the past year which culminated in the conclusion of an interim deal in Geneva prompted some principlists to take aim at the deal, both implicitly and explicitly. But the author of the short essay below, which was published in a 121^st issue of Hamshahri Mah Magazine, believes Saeed Jalili is conspicuous by his absence in the ranks of those who are critical of Hassan Rouhani and his top nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif. Is he waiting for the July 20 deadline and a possible failure of the interlocutors to draft a comprehensive deal to play his I-told-so card? Is he going to use the possible breakup of the nuclear negotiations as a lever in his bid to unseat his moderate rival: incumbent Hassan Rouhani in the 2017 presidential polls? Here is the essay in its entirety:

“Barely has a year passed since Hassan Rouhani’s government took office, and the 12^th presidential election seems too far away. But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

But a frenzy of activity, including provincial trips, by Saeed Jalili could be a sign he is determined to challenge Hassan Rouhani in the polls in three years’ time.

“Jalili threw his hat in the ring ahead of the 11^th presidential election so unexpectedly that his own campaign, which was known as Campaign for Good Life, seemed to have been taken by surprise, something that rendered it unable to duly support the former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council’s bid for the top job. This time around, though, Saeed Jalili’s candidacy in the 12^th presidential election is predictable. Although in politics one cannot predict anything with certainty, Saeed Jalili’s provincial tours over the past year, particularly his back-to-back speeches in several towns on June 4 and 5 [2014 ], suggest he is likely to be a contender in the upcoming presidential elections. By fielding his candidacy in the previous vote, the top negotiator shifted the focus of presidential campaign to nuclear talks so that, as pundits put it, he could capitalize on this change in discourse. The division over the nuclear issue in the third debate and the bold swipe Velayati took at the way nuclear talks led by Saeed Jalili were being handled did nothing to benefit Velayati, but it did open the way for the acceptance of the criticism Rouhani directed at the trend of talks. So the turbaned diplomat eventually emerged victorious in the 11^th presidential elections. The 4 million-plus votes Jalili garnered in the polls, however, were pure and of high quality. The purity and high quality of the votes he secured are going to be the best prop for his likely run for president. The reason Jalili supporters put forth to persuade him to remain on the political scene is that the 4 million-plus votes he bagged came not on the back of months of intense campaigning, but in less than a month and that continued efforts in four years can definitely see that number rise and make Rouhani the first one-term president in the history of the Islamic Republic. Unlike other main critics of the Rouhani government such as Lankarani, who is rarely seen these days and is marginalized when compared to the months and years leading up to last year’s presidential elections, Saeed Jalili has never stepped off the political scene for timeout. Trips and speeches continue to be on top of his agenda. In these speeches, in addition to value-based principles of the Islamic Republic and the criteria one needs to meet to be a committed revolutionary, efforts to safeguard the nuclear achievements of the country and keep the nation on course of advancement, as far as nuclear technology is concerned, take center stage.

But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.

“In all fairness, one should admit that in mapping out his nuclear stance, Jalili has rarely blasted the performance of Rouhani’s government over the past 12 months. Even at a time when the media critical of the government took aim at the Geneva agreement, he did not lash out at Rouhani’s nuclear policy. But the possible success or failure of the nuclear talks is predictably going to be vital to his decision on whether to stand for president in three years.”