海角大神

Iran鈥檚 smiling but immovable top nuclear negotiator,聽a revolutionary and wounded war veteran with a decades-old suspicion of the United States,聽has become a frontrunner in Iran鈥檚 presidential race.聽

Saeed Jalili's shock of white hair, rimless eyeglasses and crisp white shirt buttoned up to his trim salt-and-pepper beard make him one of Iran鈥檚 most recognizable figures in the West, but he has proven an enigmatic figure for those who have sat opposite him at the negotiating table聽during years of fruitless nuclear talks.

Mr. Jalili can interact with smiles, laughter, and even well-placed charm. But his calm and low-key demeanor 鈥� he聽wears sensible shoes of soft black leather that don鈥檛 require polish, and聽he could not be more different than the flamboyant, divisive, and fiery聽outgoing President Mahmoud聽Ahmadinejad 鈥� does not diminish his uncompromising message of Iranian resistance, and preserving Iran鈥檚 鈥渞ight鈥� to nuclear energy.

Jalili told 海角大神 that the Islamic Republic of Iran is winning its strategic struggle with America, despite crippling sanctions and Western attempts to isolate it from the world.聽And Jalili says that he is the man to carry Iran鈥檚 revolutionary torch into the future.

鈥淲hoever becomes a candidate for the office of the presidency, I believe should think that he鈥檚 the best man for the job,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor during an interview in Istanbul.聽A聽47-year-old who ascended on the diplomatic fast-track, supporters聽hope聽his fierce loyalty to Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei聽will聽make up for his lack of popular charisma.

When asked about poisonous Iranian politics, and vicious campaign battles already underway, Jalili replies with conviction, and a knowing laugh: 鈥淏efore I entered the fray, I knew what I was getting into."

Jalili鈥檚 chances soared today, as Iranian State TV announced that just eight candidates from nearly 700 had been approved by the Guardian Council. Several big-name fellow conservatives remain in the race. But disqualified were heavyweight two-time president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as well as Mr. Ahmadinejad's hand-picked choice, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

The disqualification of Mr. Rafsanjani聽was a surprise聽鈥� he has been a regime stalwart for a generation and engineered the elevation of Khamenei to his "supreme" post, but was sympathetic to the 2009 post-election protests.聽The Council hinted yesterday that physical fitness would be a new criteria, and the 78-year-old might not pass.

For the Islamic Republic, the June 14 election could not be more important. Both inside and outside Iran it is seen as a critical聽step聽to restoring legitimacy to a regime tainted聽by聽the last presidential poll in 2009,聽which聽resulted in street protests聽against聽fraud, calls of 鈥渄eath to the dictator鈥� 鈥撀爄n reference to Ayatollah Khamenei 鈥� and a violent聽government聽crackdown聽that earned widespread condemnation and聽in which some reports suggest Jalili played a key role.

Jalili denies that he is Khamenei鈥檚 鈥渃hoice鈥� to be president 鈥撀燼 key asset聽but one which,聽in Iran鈥檚 rough-and-tumble politics, would never be publicly acknowledged聽because the supreme leader is meant to stay above petty politics.聽But Jalili told the Monitor that he felt a 鈥渄uty鈥� to run, to 鈥渟houlder the responsibility鈥� to perpetuate the ideals of the Islamic revolution that he says Iran still exemplifies, although many Iranians these days argue otherwise.

Faithful revolutionary

Jalili expects that聽thawing US-Iran relations聽will be difficult,聽given his own experience of the 1979 Islamic revolution, the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, and most recently the Western diplomatic effort to curb Iran鈥檚 nuclear program, which he calls 鈥渦nbalanced.鈥�

鈥淓verything depends on the behavior that American administrations are going to show,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor. 鈥淭hey themselves have come to realize that their policies have been wrong. And American candidates utter the slogan of 鈥榗hange鈥� when they are electioneering. But one has to wait and see if that change will ever come about, or not.鈥�

Jalili has never shied away from echoing Khamenei's criticisms of US policy toward Iran and the Muslim world.

鈥淭he fact that the Iranian nation is defending their rights makes [the US] hopeless. Today they are witnessing Iran鈥檚 eye-catching progress, thanks to [Iranian] resistance,鈥� Jalili said at a recent press conference.

Noting the fall of pro-Western dictators like Egypt鈥檚 former leader Hosni Mubarak, but聽separating Egypt's case聽from the聽popular anger against Iran鈥檚 embattled ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria, he said, 鈥淭he US should tell the world what it wants to do: to continue to confront free nations, or support dictators?鈥�

In public, Jalili has never strayed from praise for the supreme leader, and his loyalty may have extended to the violent aftermath of the 2009 election. Khamenei, speaking at聽Friday聽prayers one week after the 2009 vote as protests were gathering pace, warned those taking to the streets to "open their eyes and see the enemy," and publicly authorized a crackdown.

The New York Times reported聽at the time聽that Jalili had been described by Iranian sources as a 鈥渃hief architect of the clampdown.鈥� The facts remain unclear. In March 2011, Jalili spoke before the Assembly of Experts about the 鈥渂ehind the scenes鈥� events of the 鈥渟edition鈥� of 2009,聽although he聽never alluded to any role of his own. Instead, he claimed that the US, UK, and Israel had allocated $55 million to support the uprising in cyberspace, resulting in 874 anti-regime websites, to smear the success of religious rule in Iran.

Jalili has a PhD in political science from Imam Sadeq University, which is known for the ideological hue of its students. His dissertation on 7th聽century political thought was turned into a book called 鈥淔oreign Policy of the Prophet of Islam.鈥�

Jalili spent years working on foreign policy in Khamenei鈥檚 office, assuming the post of director general at just 36 years old. From 2005 he was an Ahmadinejad adviser and then deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs. He reportedly helped write an unprecedented 18-page letter from Ahmadinejad to President George Bush. The letter claimed that liberal democracy had 鈥渇ailed鈥� in the West, and noted how 鈥渉istory tells us that repressive and cruel governments do not聽survive."

The White House panned the document as a religious screed and did not reply.

When Jalili was appointed in 2007聽to lead nuclear negotiations as head of Iran鈥檚 National Security Council, there were complaints inside Iran that he had too little experience. A Western diplomat in Tehran told Reuters he 鈥渟pecializes in monologue,鈥� not debate.

Still, as a 鈥渟ymbol of resistance鈥澛爄n charge of the nuclear file,聽Jalili鈥檚 star has risen amid threats from US and especially Israeli officials that they would attack Iran to stop the program.

'Scar tissue'

As far back as mid-2012, Jalili supporters began planting the seeds of a presidential run with websites, which have now morphed into a slick social media operation that includes a torrent of tweets in Persian and English, and even an Instagram account.

They paint him as a simple and pious man and compare, for example, his Iranian-assembled Kia Pride, which he drives himself, to the chauffeur-driven bright blue Mercedes of Mr. Rafsanjani. This week, a new Jalili support group was formed with the name, 鈥淭he Rise of the Oppressed.鈥� Other conservative candidates 鈥撀爄ncluding Ahmadinejad鈥檚 brother 鈥� have dropped聽out of聽the race,聽putting their support behind聽Jalili.

Jalili says the two defining events of his life are the revolution and 1980s war, and both have聽left him with scar tissue.聽

He was just 14 when revolutionary turmoil swept Iran鈥檚 hated聽monarch聽from power, and Jalili was captivated by what he saw as the promise and sacred ideology put forward by the thundering father of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the聽bot shekan聽or 鈥渋dol smasher,鈥� who ousted the Shah and broke Iran鈥檚 ties with the West.

Jalili wears his religiosity on his forehead: a thick, brown circle, imprinted by years of prayers as a devout Shiite Muslim, of pressing his head down to earth on a clay disk.

鈥淭he Islamic revolution has shaped my thinking, and now we know that a nation can defend its rights, and can make progress, despite what certain powers like America would like to see,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor. 鈥淎merica wanted the Shah to stay in power, but the Iranian people refused, and the Iranian people imposed their own will over [America鈥檚].鈥�

That belief very much motivates Jalili鈥檚 vows not capitulate to 鈥渋llogical鈥� Western demands聽in nuclear talks with world powers.

And there are other examples, Jalili says,聽that聽illustrate America鈥檚 failures and Iran鈥檚 triumphs. In the 1980s, Washington backed Iraq鈥檚 Saddam Hussein, and 鈥渋nsisted that Saddam should be the victor of the Iran-Iraq war. I ask you: Where is Saddam right now?鈥� asks Jalili. (The Iraqi leader was toppled by the US invasion of 2003 and unceremoniously hanged in 2006.)

Jalili聽cites聽Egypt's decision to sign the US-brokered Camp David accord with Israel in 1979 鈥撀燼fter which it聽became a close ally聽of the US and was聽showered with money 鈥� while Iran聽became an聽enemy targeted by sanctions.

鈥淔or 30 years the Americans provided the highest level of support and friendship to Egypt, and the most enmity was shown towards Iran,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor, noting Mr. Mubarak鈥檚聽overthrow聽in a popular revolt in 2011.

Quoting an Egyptian scholar, Jalili says:聽"The result is that today the Iranians are sending satellites into space, and we can鈥檛 even provide for the daily bread of our聽people."

War memories

The second most formative event for Jalili was the war. As a young volunteer frontline scout, Jalili manned watchtowers and monitored enemy movements, sending target coordinates back to artillery units. Jalili鈥檚 social media accounts today publish photos of a bearded young man in uniform at the front, and portray him as a humble war hero.聽

Jalili fought in the Karbala 5 offensive in early 1987, one of the biggest battles of the Iran-Iraq war with tens of thousands of dead on both sides, and heavy Iraqi use of chemical weapons. Iranian sources indicate that Jalili鈥檚 lower right leg had to be amputated due to lack of proper equipment at the Shalamche frontline.

Even in the grim annals of the Iran-Iraq war, which claimed聽nearly聽400,000 dead聽on both sides, Shalamche holds a legendary place. Another survivor, cameraman Reza Borji, once said: 鈥淲e gave a martyr every 1.5 meters; that is, the whole place was covered with [the bodies of] martyrs鈥�. This war was sacred for us.鈥�

Not all Iranians felt the ideological pull of the war in the same way. Many secular Iranians 鈥� those who wanted a reformed and kinder, gentler Islamic revolution, or none at all, many of whom years later took to the streets as part of the opposition Green Movement in the 2009 protests 鈥撀爁ormed the other side of Iran鈥檚 wide social divide.聽

But for a believer like Jalili, such an experience at Shalamche was a聽searing moment that he rarely talks about in public, which聽few of his Western diplomatic counterparts could comprehend. The result for him is a stated reliance on those early principles of resistance and justice to solve every problem, from sanctions to the nuclear issue.聽聽

鈥淓ven after the end of the war, the Americans continued to work to prevent the growth and the development of that idea, in different fields and different settings,鈥� says Jalili.

But US 鈥渆fforts to stymie our scientific progress鈥� have failed, as have sanctions.聽鈥淣evertheless, people of my generation continue to feel that responsibility, because of that call to duty.鈥�

The result, claims Jalili, is that 鈥淚ran has managed to break the imposing stature of America.鈥�

鈥淲e fully believe that this idea [of Iran鈥檚 revolution] has every potential to help different peoples to prevail over those clubs of power and wealth, and can bring happiness, prosperity and welfare for different societies,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor.

Yet applying those concepts to a modern election campaign is not easy. Jalili has been criticized for lack of executive experience.聽Some聽have argued that聽Jalili鈥檚 uncompromising style has set back nuclear talks and deepened Western mistrust.

Jalili this week said the Ahmadinejad government was like a 鈥渄ecrepit car鈥� and he would have his work cut out as president to remove the 鈥渙bstacles鈥� slowing Iran鈥檚 progress.

It is not clear if Jalili can inspire an Iranian electorate buffeted by sanctions, discontent,聽and economic hardship that,聽after 2009, is sometimes fed up with voting. He says his own victory as president is secondary to keeping Iran on a proven, revolutionary path.

鈥淭his feeling of responsibility was not limited to the war鈥�. Everyone came together to help push this idea forward, and help it blossom,鈥� Jalili told the Monitor. 鈥淚鈥檓 very pleased to say that in聽all聽fields, such selfless devotion and service has paid off. We have become very successful.鈥�