The principlist political activist Saeed Jalili doesn’t even have experience running a shop.
Mohammad Mohajeri, a journalist and principlist analyst, spoke about the potential rivalry between Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Saeed Jalili, saying that although Ghalibaf and Jalili are competitors, some of their votes overlap. Both of them try to emulate Raisi and aim to draw from his voter base. However, since Jalili represents the ultra-right faction of the principlist camp, he is distanced from Ghalibaf, who sometimes poses as a new principlist.
In a conversation with Fararu, he added that he has heard of efforts to have Jalili step aside in favor of Ghalibaf, with the justification being that in the conflict between these two, it is possible that Pezeshkian could win. Jalili’s supporters believe that due to the revelations against Ghalibaf, his vote count is lower, and he should step aside for Jalili.
Mohajeri emphasized that Jalili is definitely ineffective, as he hasn’t even managed a shop and has never held an executive position. On the other hand, he leads a completely unique perspective in foreign policy.
This political analyst stressed that Ghalibaf has engaged in a lot of factionalism in recent years and has done everything to maintain his position. In this respect, he can be considered distanced from principlism. He has made deals with the leaders of the Stability Front, but the base of the Stability Front is with Jalili.