Word: velayati
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...been alarmed by the incumbent's handling of the economy and foreign policy. For now, Ahmadinejad is the sole conservative candidate, but Tehran mayor Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf has signaled his intention to run, and there has also been talk of a presidential bid by former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who carries the backing of such powerhouses in the pragmatic centrist ranks as former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the clerical body that elects the Supreme Leader...
...conducted secret negotiations with the Iranians on behalf of the Bush Administration between 2001 and 2003, says her Iranian counterparts made sure to report to Khamenei or his trusted advisers before and after every conversation with U.S. officials. She points out that two former Foreign Ministers - Ali Akbar Velayati and Kamal Kharraji - are among those advisers. Both men have had some experience in dealing with the West...
...nuclear standoff. This week, the top foreign policy adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, declared that Iran could respond favorably to the latest deal offered by Western negotiators, which he described as acceptable "in principle." It remains unclear whether the unusual declaration by Ali Akbar Velayati, who served as Iran's foreign minister from 1981 to 1997, will translate into government policy. But in New York City on Tuesday, Iran's current foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, reinforced the impression that progress could be imminent in the long-running talks between Iran and the so-called...
...public comments by Velayati, the Supreme Leader's foreign policy adviser, underscore a sense that the Tehran regime may be seriously debating the possibility of engaging with the Western offer. Velayati, known as a close confidant of Khamenei - the man who wields executive power in Iran - also took unmistakable aim at hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though without mentioning him by name. He warned that "[Iranian] officials ... should avoid illogical and provocative sloganeering. A certain declaration could cause us problems; we need to be careful not to make these declarations...
...Velayati claimed that the Bush Administration and Israel hoped to isolate Iran and make the case for sanctions and even military action by demonstrating that Iran opposes diplomacy and negotiations. "Those who are agitating against our interests want that we reject the [latest] offer," he reasoned. "As a consequence, it is in our interests to accept...