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

Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili speaks under an oversized portrait of the Iranian supreme leader during a campaign rally on May 29.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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?

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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.