TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, a candidate in next month’s presidential elections, vowed Friday he will pursue a policy of resistance against the West if elected.
Addressing his first campaign rally in Tehran, Saeed Jalili said his priority in foreign policy will be to expand Islam’s influence in the world and counter “arrogance,” a reference to the U.S.
Jalili is considered one of the most hard-line of the eight candidates approved by the Guardian Council, Iran’s election overseers, to run in the June 14 race.
He is thought to draw much of his support from the Basij, the paramilitary branch of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. He lost a leg in the 1980-88 war with Iraq, earning him the title “janbaz,” or sacrificing combatant.
Several prominent Basij figures and other hard-liners attended the rally. “Our living martyr, our winning card,” the crowd of about 3,000 chanted. Some were fasting as a sign of support for Jalili’s campaign.
The Guardian Council barred two top candidates from the race, dramatically increasing the chances of establishment-friendly candidates.
Centrist former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a protege of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, were disqualified. The barring of Rafsanjani dashed the hopes of reformist groups, which had faced a relentless crackdown since disputed 2009 election. Of eight candidates approved, six are conservatives and only two of them have pro-reform tendencies.
