Non-Subscriber Extract
Larijani's departure fuels Iran power struggle
09 November 2007
When Iranian government spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Elham, announced the resignation of the country's nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, on 20 October, it appeared his unexpected departure had been forced on him rather than because of the personal reasons numerous officials and parliamentarians stated. The low-key introduction of his successor, Saeed Jalili, a deputy foreign minister with close ties with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and no note of gratitude being offered to Larijani, was interpreted as further evidences that he was forced to leave.
Before taking on the role as chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani was head of the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the country's largest media network, for 10 years. Part of his strength is that he belongs to the conservative elite - the revolution's 'Second Generation' - and had always enjoyed the support of the supreme leader.
To a large extent, Larijani draws his political clout from his prominent clerical lineage. He is Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli's son, which gave him and his brothers the opportunity to develop clan-like links within the political structure. Because of this pedigree, Larijani enjoys a respectable level of influence with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who held him in high esteem. It was Khamenei who appointed Larijani as head of the Nuclear Negotiation Team and the National Security Council in 2004.
However, when Ahmadinejad became president, he expressed serious concerns about what he called the "retreat and passivity" of Iran's right to nuclear enrichment and his uneasy feelings about Larijani's strategy and diplomatic leverage, because of his affinity to Khamenei. From the outset, Ahmadinejad favoured a more radical foreign policy.
During 2006, the power struggle between Larijani and the president gradually intensified, leading Ahmadinejad to undercut and embarrass the chief negotiator by contradicting many of his statements on the progress of negotiations and the country's nuclear agenda.
Image: Ali Larijani.