[NYTr] Big Shoes to Fill: Al Jazeera on Iran's New Nuclear Negotiator

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Al Jazeera - Oct 22, 2007
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DE8FE53D-483B-4385-BC4E-181F23E4AEAC.htm

Big shoes to fill  	 	

By Alireza Ronaghi in Tehran

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and
the country's top nuclear negotiator, resigned from the position he
held for more than two years and was immediately replaced by Saeed
Jalili, a relatively young deputy foreign minister with no experience
in nuclear talks.

Rajanews, a website that is known to be the unofficial voice of staunch
supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadineajd, the Iranian president, calls him the
perfect choice for the job.

Jalili, a 42-year-old with a doctorate in political science, has served
in a wide range of positions in the Iranian foreign ministry since 1989.

After Ahmadinejad's victory in the 2005 presidential election he worked
as an adviser to the president and has also worked as a deputy to the
foreign minister in European and American affairs.

Jalili will meet Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy
chief, on Tuesday to continue talks over Iran's controversial nuclear
programme.

There is an obvious contrast between Jalili's stature and that of his
predecessor as Larijani was clearly representing the highest authority
in Iranian politics, the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ahmadinejad's man?

Indeed on Monday an adviser to the supreme leader was quoted expressing
regret at Larijani's decision to stand down.

"It seems that if this had not happened, it would have been better,"
Ali Akbar Velayati, the most senior foreign policy adviser to Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, was quoted by Iran's students news agency ISNA as saying.

"In the very important and sensitive situation where the nuclear issue
is at the moment it would be better if this [the resignation] did not
happen or at least it was prevented," he added.

Jalili alternatively may be seen more as a representative of
Ahmadinejad.

To pre-empt speculations that the change of guard may trigger, the
Iranian leadership has decided that Larijani will also be present in
talks on Tuesday.

"The negotiations will be held on Tuesday and Doctor [Ali] Larijani
will attend the talks as the representative of the supreme leader
[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]," Mohammad Ali Hosseini, a spokesman for the
Iranian foreign ministry, was quoted by Iran's Fars news agency as
saying.

"He will attend the talks by the emphasis of the supreme leader and
president [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] himself."

Jalili is an unknown name to many ordinary Iranians, and no one doubts
that he has to prepare himself for a challenging mission: to fill the
shoes of one of the most prominent figures in the Islamic republic and
to maintain his foreign policy achievements.

The Iran-EU talks on Tuesday for instance, are one example of
Larijani's political initiatives.

Larijani's main objective has been to try and force Iran's nuclear case
from the UN security council's agenda and send it firmly back into the
remit of the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, where Iran says it belongs.

'Technical duties'

That mission has not been accomplished yet, but Larijani's efforts
backed by the highest level of Iranian leadership, have succeeded in
paving the way for a new round of Iran-IAEA co-operation.

Tehran's unexpected openness in its dealings with the IAEA has resulted
in solving one of its most problematic issues with the West, concerning
Plutonium traces found in Iran.

That has in turn prompted the UN security council to postpone passing a
third, and much tougher, resolution against Iran and imposing further
sanctions.

Despite such a breakthrough, and contrary to what Ahmadineajd has said
on several occasions, Iran's nuclear standoff with the West is far from
over, and the government will continue to have a need for experienced
men like Larijani.

The government, however, has played down Larijani's resignation and
government officials have denied that it could be seen as a sign of
growing divisions within the Islamic establishment.

"Jalili, as a young and energetic yet experienced diplomat, will
practically continue Larijani's work; the only difference would be that
the remaining duties are mostly technical and legal in nature,"
Mohammad Mehdi Soltani, a national security council adviser, was quoted
by Rajanews as saying.

"If anybody tends to interpret Larijani's resignation as a sign of
divisions among the Islamic Republic officials or a war for power
within the system, they are moving in line with the psychological
warfare of the enemies," he said.

Source: Al Jazeera