Dual-Polar Jalili Larijani
Saeed Jalili, the Dual-Polar Jalili Larijani, has participated in the elections of 1392 and 1400 without any issues. He faced defeat in the first round and withdrew in favor of Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi in his last appearance. The fourteenth election marks Jalili’s third participation in this competition.
Ali Larijani has also announced his intention to enter the race for the third time.
The first time was in 1384 when he was defeated, and in his second appearance three years ago, he was disqualified by the Guardian Council. It remains to be seen what decision the Guardian Council will make this time regarding the participation of the three-term parliament speaker in the presidential race.
The first dual-polar election
The dual-polarity of Larijani and Jalili is important for various reasons. Despite having a political origin, they have distanced themselves from each other. If they are approved and win the elections, they will implement their visions in various fields within the framework of the president’s powers.
In a brief speech after registering, Larijani highlighted the economy and lifting sanctions as his priorities, while Jalili emphasized continuing Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s path and the necessity of the president having a program centered on justice and progress. These differing perspectives can be considered the beginning of the dual-polarity between Larijani and Jalili.
The representation of two perspectives, regardless of their correctness, that are supposed to change the direction of the country’s railway or maintain it on its current path.
Attack on Larijani
Saeed Jalili and Ali Larijani both announced their candidacy on the X network on Twitter. Jalili, along with ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,’ posted a photo of himself in his office standing in front of a mirror and buttoning up his shirt. Larijani posted a photo of an app map for passenger transport with three points marked as origin, destination 1, and destination 2.
This image was met with different interpretations. Some interpreted the starting point as the Leader’s office, symbolizing the approval of Larijani’s candidacy by Ayatollah Khamenei, while others said it meant his office near the Beit Rahbari complex.
The first destination was the Ministry of Interior, and the second destination was Pasteur Street and the Presidential Office. The image was accompanied by the sentence ‘We won’t reach the destination without you.’
This post faced the social media users and some politicians on the X Twitter network with humorous and serious reactions of Larigani’s account. Reactions intensified when he stated in his speech at the Ministry of Interior that to overcome obstacles, we must use outdated methods. After his registration, the same sentence with the hashtag ‘climb up’ was published. Twitter users and politicians considered the keyword ‘climb up’ as an insult to Seyed Ibrahim Raisi and the victims of the helicopter crash incident, showing their reaction to Larigani.
The Telegram channel of Kayhan newspaper also reacted strongly to this issue. The page affiliated with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, wrote ‘Indeed, Allah defends those who believe.’ The enduring achievement of martyr Raisi in the country’s political sphere is ethical behavior and not undermining competitors.
Let’s not overshadow this great achievement with sarcasm and innuendo.
Mallak Shariati, the representative of Tehran, also wrote, ‘He used to say before that the sound comes from above. Yesterday, he wrote that he wants to climb Pastor. Today, he said he loves heights and wants to climb. They still haven’t understood that the people want a servant of the nation, not a master.’
Today, he also said he wants to climb higher. He still hasn’t understood that the people want a servant of the nation, not a master.
This representative of the parliament then used the hashtag ‘height’ which refers to a note in Kayhan.
In response to Larijani, Kayhan wrote that Mr. Larijani said in his speech when registering for the presidential elections that to overcome obstacles, we must rise above outdated methods. However, falling into the trap of the JCPOA and the American and British JCPOA-ization was a low height, the lowest height.
Mehdi Samoee, the Director General of Public Relations at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Abdolmoteh Mohammadkhani, the spokesperson and head of the Communications and International Affairs Center of the Tehran Municipality, the Governor of Qazvin, and the head of the Provincial Election Headquarters were among the government officials or well-known figures in the virtual space who reacted to this issue.
Larijani eventually published an explanation about this keyword, possibly addressing Qalibaf, who was the highest-ranking official in the country among those who reacted to him, and wrote: ‘Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge by degrees.’ Rising to heights is a strategy for completing the path.
To promote the growth and development of the country, we must rise above destructive and negative discussions. We should dedicate the electoral space to addressing the people’s problems and offering real solutions. The martyrs sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation for the advancement of this strategy.
May their memory be honored, and the thoughts of the enemies and exploiters of their name be unsuccessful.
Saeed Jalili also wrote that although we may eloquently express a few sentences and criticize others, it may have its own appeal to some extent, but it does not work for the people.
No one can claim to be seeking the interests of the people if they have had responsibilities in the parliament for several years and do not present a track record in the fight against corruption.
Merely desiring the lifting of sanctions is not sufficient.
Nasrollah Tajik, a former diplomat and political analyst, told his compatriots that one of our main problems within the country is mismanagement and the improper structure of the country’s administrative system. We also face challenges in foreign policy that will be a burden on whoever becomes the president.
The main issues in our foreign policy stem from conceptual and theoretical issues, meaning problems that have not been studied theoretically at universities and are not subject to scientific discussion and research to provide solutions in foreign policy that have been researched at universities. What outputs and results follow from these studies when they are made available to executive bodies.
So, we have a gap between the university and the executive bodies in this area. This also prevents a dominant discourse from forming, where everyone goes under its umbrella and does not shape their own destiny regarding foreign policy issues.
By giving the example of the Palestine issue in this regard, I explained that we have had a significant material and spiritual investment in Palestine, but today we see a level of indifference in society towards this issue. In such conditions, most of our investments will be wasted and will not be profitable.
Therefore, with the lack of connection between the university and the executive body, each of which is pursuing its own path in a specific world and is engaged in its own work, we have a problem in the field of theoretical analysis and explaining it to the people.
This former diplomat emphasized that on the other hand, in implementation, we are faced with an excessive number of organizations.
This is while the organization responsible for foreign policy does not have the necessary authority and power in decision-making and implementation.
Many of the problems in this area are not at the government level for the president to play a role in foreign policy. Foreign policy is a matter of governance.
For example, Mr. Larijani is talking today about lifting sanctions. All previous presidents, even the late Mr. Rafsanjani, sought negotiations and lifting of sanctions. Considering the position of foreign policy, we should examine what the problems were that presidents could not resolve.
Why is it that today we can only be sure of lifting sanctions through Larijani’s speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
Tajik continued that Mr. Larijani had better and easier communications with the EU representative, Mr. Solana, during the time he was a nuclear negotiator. But during that period, we received three resolutions plus fifty sanctions. Therefore, if we simply say that my government is a government that will lift sanctions, it won’t work. These sanctions are the result of our foreign policy.
Part of it comes back to us, and the issues we have with international and regional norms are our relative advantage in the Middle East. The main problem with the United States in the Middle East is the sanctions resulting from our issues in the region.
But Iran cannot abandon its investments in the Middle East, or we must accept abandoning these investments, or we must pursue our interests in ways that are compatible with international norms and not perceived as a threat by other countries. Part of this policy may be in the hands of the government.
I do not negate the role of the individual, but just as much as the president plays a role, other officials also play a role. Just wanting to take steps towards lifting the sanctions is not enough. Let’s assume Mr. Larijani becomes the president, major changes in our foreign policy will still not happen.
One of our dilemmas is that we do not have a correct perception of the level and extent of the problem. We do not know how much of our country’s issues and problems are due to foreign policy, which part is related to us, and how much is related to the other party. That is why we simply want to reduce the sanctions.
The other side is also a part of the equation, we need to be realistic. People have heard enough of these ideas but haven’t seen positive results in action. They are disillusioned with the government and political establishment. This is not good for governance.
The former Iranian ambassador to Jordan stated that Mr. Jalili, on the other hand, has a general framework of thinking that has not been tested in an academic environment with both supporters and opponents. He may have ideas that some of his friends also appreciate.
However, ideas can succeed if they are examined and studied by both supporters and opponents and evaluated in terms of implementation.
For example, Mr. Jalili raised the issue of barter in the year 2021. We have 15 neighboring countries that are relatively advantageous to us, but if we want to work with them, when we are under sanctions, we cannot trade properly. We cannot give wool and get tea. He negotiated with Mr. Solana and Ms. Ashton from 2007 to 2013.
The result of these negotiations was 3 resolutions and Iran being placed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter related to combating global threats, establishing peace, and increasing 450 more sanctions. What foreign policy slogan does he want to present?
If you sit at the feet of Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, he has mentioned that Iran and the United States have had indirect negotiations in Oman, which were accepted by the leadership. Salehi, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was confused for 2 or 3 months, and Jalili, as the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, criticized this issue, and it took a year to hold two negotiations.
This approach is very slow, and we cannot secure our interests. The pace of developments is high, and we are moving like ants. However, eventually, negotiations were held in Oman and became the basis for subsequent negotiations with the P5+1 and the JCPOA.
Our former diplomat emphasized that Mr. Jalili wants to know what he should do in foreign policy. Mr. Jalili is seeking global management. Their talks and speeches are present in various forums, discussing general topics that are merely a waste of time.
I hope that in the coming days, stronger forces knowledgeable about foreign policy will register for the elections, capable of improving our situation internally and externally. We need structural reforms, and God willing, with the presence of several strong forces from various aspects of the country, we will see the return of people to the ballot boxes and maximum participation. This will increase national cohesion and shape a strong and efficient government to solve people’s problems and advance the country.
The Middle East is on the verge of fundamental changes, global polarization is shifting. In America, if Trump comes back, we will have more problems, and a strong and cohesive government can be most effective, God willing.
Persian
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