Word: ahmadinejad
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...will not allow Iraq to become a platform for harming the security of Iran and neighbors.' NOURI AL-MALIKI, Iraq's Prime Minister, assuring Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that American bases in Iraq will not be used to attack his country...
...against the IAEA, is widely viewed as the standard-bearer within the conservative establishment for pragmatism in domestic and foreign affairs. Besides serving in security posts, he is a former minister of culture and headed Iranian state television for a decade. A vital point of difference is that while Ahmadinejad has taken a provocative stance in the now-suspended negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, Larijani believes Iran's interests are better served with a constructive dialogue aimed at building Western confidence that Iran's uranium-enrichment activities will not be diverted into the construction of nuclear weapons. Interviewed...
...Despite the groundswell of support, some Iranian insiders believe that Larijani will ultimately prefer to remain as parliament speaker rather than risk losing to Ahmadinejad in the '09 race. "He may see that he has little chance of being elected President, and that it's better to exercise influence as the head of one of the branches of government," a Tehran analyst told TIME. More an intellectual than a politician - he wrote a doctoral thesis on German philosophy - Larijani finished near the bottom in the 2005 multi-candidate election that brought Ahmadinejad to power...
...Even then, his comeback proves there is deep discontent within conservative circles over Ahmadinejad's leadership, and raises the likelihood that the incumbent will be strongly challenged by another leading conservative presidential candidate. Among those contenders may be the popular mayor of Tehran, Mohammed-Baqer Qalibaf, who has criticized Ahmadinejad's belligerent foreign policy statements and mishandling of the Iranian economy. Ahmadinejad seems to recognize the shifting winds; he let it be known that he, too, preferred his bitter rival Larijani over Haddad-Adel in the speaker contest...
...Because Larijani's political comback certainly had the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei - who wields executive power in Iran - an analyst in Tehran told TIME it signals that Khamenei, the ultimate arbiter in Iranian politics, may be prepared to sanction challenges to Ahmadinejad's reelection next year. Whether or not Larijani becomes a presidential candidate, he is likely to use his high-profile post as parliamentary speaker to question Ahmadinejad's policies and offer alternatives. That, along with Khamenei's ambivalence about Ahmadinejad's political future, could weaken the incumbent's authority and prepare the ground...