Why Iran's next election could be disastrous for the U.S.
After June 14, Iran could become more isolated from the West than ever
One day soon, American lawmakers might actually be wistful for the days when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in power. With Iran's presidential election looming on June 14, it appears Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has a new favorite: Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief security official and nuclear negotiator. If elected, Jalili, 47, is expected to be "the perfect follower of Khamenei," an analyst in Iran told The New York Times. An avowed hardliner, Jalili once said the goal of Iran was to "uproot capitalism, Zionism, and Communism, and promote the discourse of pure Islam in the world."
How did Jalili become the frontrunner in the upcoming election?
Probably because the conservative Guardian Council — six of whose members were handpicked by Khamenei — wanted it that way. The council whittled a slate of thousands of potential candidates down to eight, and ruled two of the most viable candidates unfit to run: Ahmadinejad's top aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie and former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Criticizing the council's moves, Prof. Ali Ansari, director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrews, laments the state of Iran's electoral process:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Iranians and U.S. officials seeking reform in Iran, are similarly dissatisfied with the council's choosing Jalili. Both Mashaie and Rafsanjani have advocated for better relations with the West. Mashaie, despite his ties to Ahmadinejad, has publicly said that he sees no enmity between Iran and the United States or Israel. He also sought to attract investment from the millions of Iranians overseas, something that, according to The Washington Post, conservative clerics and politicians have opposed.
As for Rafsanjani, who served two terms as president, his supporters hoped that he would have enacted modest reforms without raising Khamenei's ire. But Rafsanjani's tepid support of the Green Movement, when thousands of Iranians took to the street to protest the re-election of Ahmadinejad in 2009, might have done him in. The Guardian Council's official reason for excluding him was that Rafsanjani, at 74, was too old to run for office.
That leaves Jalili, who could render Iran more isolated than ever, at the precise time that the country's economy desperately needs a boost. Iran is suffering through 32 percent inflation, a plummeting currency, and a 50 percent drop in oil exports as a result of U.N. sanctions.
Yet Jalili remains outwardly optimistic, pushing a philosophy of political resistance against the West as the cure for Iran's economic woes. "The fact that the Iranian nation is defending their rights makes [the U.S.] hopeless," Jalili said recently at a press conference. "Today they are witnessing Iran's eye-catching progress, thanks to [Iranian] resistance."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
A leader that trumpets isolation, resistance, and a Panglossian view of his country's economic and military might? Sounds familiar, writes Max Fisher at The Washington Post:
For those hoping that the Green Movement might be the catalyst for reform, Jalili would be a major step backwards.
"We are fighting an ideological war — nobody cares about the economy," Amir Qoroqchi, an electrical engineering student and Jalili supporter, told the Times. "The only thing that matters is resistance."
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published