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?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

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.