Word: tajzadeh
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Just take my word for it," assures Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy Interior Minister in Khatami's cabinet and currently a close aide. "In Khatami-speak, that's as close as it gets to a declaration before he announces his candidacy publicly, probably in the coming week...
...Khatami had hoped to persuade his former presidential adviser, Mir-Hossein Moussavi, to run in his stead, but made clear that if Moussavi declined, he would be forced to accept the mantle of responsibility. According to Tajzadeh, the pressure on him, "combined with the terrible situation of the country," has made Khatami feel a social obligation to run against Ahmadinejad. A victory by the reformist leader who promoted domestic liberalization and accommodation with the West on the international front would mark a profound political shift from Ahmadinejad, whose foreign policy has been based on an uncompromising defiance. But victory...
...thing he doesn't want to happen is for people to blame him later that he didn't offer himself when he was called upon and needed most," explains Tajzadeh. "The worst that can happen is he'll lose. At least he won't be blamed for not running...
...Asked whether Khatami's decision to run follows fruitful talks with the Supreme Leader, Tajzadeh responds, "Let's just put it this way: If he had reached the conclusion that he wouldn't be invested with enough powers to run the country, he wouldn't declare his candidacy...
...even went so far as to tell a newspaper, "We participate in order to save the country." Reformist strategists believe that if all political branches fall into nearly unanimous conservative hands, the split between society and government will become so pronounced as to risk "an undesired social explosion," says Tajzadeh...