Iran Report Discusses Background of Nuclear Negotiator’s Exit

Text of report by Sergey Barseqiyan headlined: “Larijani resigned” published by Iranian newspaper E’temad-e Melli on 21 October

Ali Larijani, the official in charge of Iran’s nuclear file, the architect of the philosophy of turning towards the East, the initiator of win-win policy in the nuclear issue, the original initiator of the principle of negotiations minus any talk about suspension [of uranium enrichment] left the building of the Supreme National Security Council.

Three days before the meeting with Javier Solana, Larijani has handed over Iran’s nuclear file to Sa’id Jalili, deputy-minister of foreign affairs. The 42-year old Jalili holds a doctorate in political science and is a much-travelled diplomat in [Manuchehr] Mottaki’s ministry. He is also the author of the book titled, “The foreign policy of the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings be upon him)”.

He started climbing the steps of promotion from Bagh-e Melli [National Garden, the area where the Foreign Ministry is situated] in the year 68 [the year that started on 21st March 1989], as a political attach. He then passed through various stages from the head of the inspection department of the Evaluation and Recruitment Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Ali Akbar Velayati, to third secretary, second secretary, first secretary, third advisor, deputy director of the department of North and Central America [presumably in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], second advisor, the managing director of the office of the esteemed leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamene'i], the president’s advisor, the deputy- minister of foreign affairs in charge of Europe and America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right up to the position as the person in charge of the important file [the nuclear file] during recent years.

Larijani’s resignation has put an end to a long period of speculation, rumours and repeated reports about the resignation of the senior official in charge of Iran’s nuclear programme. Those rumours were based on the differences of views between the two [presidential] election rivals, one of whom became the president and the other became the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. In the early days after [Mahmud] Ahmadinezhad’s victory, whenever Ali Larijani spoke, everyone regarded him as the [person who might be appointed as] foreign minister. However, the fate of the man in charge of the glass building (the Voice and Vision building) [radio and television building] was to be appointed as the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

The nuclear file that dropped from the hands of Hasan Rowhani was given to the hands of Ali Larijani on 24th Mordad 1384 [15 August 2005]. The person who was the minister of culture and Islamic guidance in [Akbar] Hashemi-Rafsanjani’s government, and who had also been active at various command positions in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, turned towards politics and became a candidate for the Islamic Revolution Co-ordination Council (the co- ordination council of the principle-ists) during the 1384 [2005] presidential election. Later on, as a prominent diplomat, he was put in charge of consultations regarding Iran’s nuclear file. However, during this period he also turned his attention to a number of other security issues, such as the process that resulted in the freeing of 15 British sailors who had been arrested by Iran in Farvardin [March 2007]. It was Larijani who criticized the members of the British Parliament and the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for not having turned to him earlier on.

On the other hand, the group of 5+1 countries are also waiting to receive the outcome of the report by Solana about his talks with Larijani and [Muhammad] al-Baradi’i regarding the outcome of Iran’s co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. As a Western diplomat had told the Financial Times, Solana has been ordered not to compromise over the issue of suspension [of uranium enrichment] and must persuade Larijani to implement the resolutions of the UN Security Council. That meeting is more concerned about the process [of the talks] than their contents. It means that there were some very difficult negotiations in front of a representative who was due to be Larijani, but now there is a great deal of speculation about the person who would leave for Rome.

Different stances of Ahmadinezhad and Larijani

Why did Larijani resign? Were there some differences between him and the ninth government? What is the significance of the appointment of Sa’id Jalili, a person who is close to Mojtaba Thamareh-Hashemi, and from inside the ninth government? Has the release of the report about [Vladimir] Putin’s proposal caused some problems?

The recent visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tehran had resulted in the publication of some contradictory views regarding the talks between Putin and Iranian officials during the past two weeks.

After Putin’s meeting with the esteemed leader, Larijani as the head of the nuclear negotiating team announced that a new suggestion had been put forward to Iran for resolving the nuclear issue. However, a short while later, in response to a question about the new proposal by the Russian president, President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said: “Putin has not put forward a new proposal.” Is it the first time that such a difference can be detected in the views of Ahmadinezhad and Larijani?

Last year, when in the conference in Munich, Ahmadinezhad was bombarded by many questions by reporters about the policy regarding the review of the Holocaust and the elimination of Israel from the pages of time – two fundamental positions adopted by the president – Larijani said: “We pose no threats to Israel.” He even told the inquisitive reporters who were asking him about his stance regarding the Holocaust to go and read history. At another time, when Ahmadinezhad promised that he would announce a good nuclear news [presumably good news on the nuclear issue] during the Ten Days of Dawn ceremonies in the year 1385 [2006], again Larijani was not prepared to confirm that report.

Although both Ahmadinezhad and Larijani had adopted a similar position regarding the sending of Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council, and although both of them had told the West not to frighten Iran of the bogey of the Security Council and that the Security Council was not the end of the world, Larijani added a footnote of ‘logical steadfastness’ to Iran’s resistance to the suspension of uranium. He even took a step further and said that the issue of suspension could be considered as a part of the nuclear negotiations.

The change in the composition of the Supreme National Security Council

Larijani went to the Supreme National Security Council with a new initiative, namely the proposal for foreign partnership in Iran’s nuclear industry, a proposal that also constituted Ahmadinezhad’s nuclear gift during his first visit to New York.

On 13th Shahrivar 84 [4th August 2005], a report was published about Larijani’s decision to initiate some structural changes in the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. On the basis of those changes, the traditional structure of the Supreme National Security Council, which was composed of different committees, would be eliminated, and they would be replaced by a new deputy [presumably deputy-secretary] in view of international and security issues of the country. Larijani said that the reason for those changes was to bring the Council in line with the environmental [presumably countries in Iran's neighbourhood] and regional issues. He declared: “I have planned some new organizational structures for the Council.”

The office of the official in charge of the executive affairs of the secretariat was eliminated, and in its place the post of executive advisor of the secretary was established. Ghafur, the former managing director in charge of security at the Voice and Vision, was appointed as the new executive advisor of the secretary. On the basis of the changes that were initiated in the personnel chart of the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council, the former traditional structure was dissolved. Instead, seven deputies were appointed in the Supreme National Security Council, each in charge of a different issue.

With the elimination of the committees and the formation of issue- based deputies, some new managers entered the Supreme National Security Council. Gradually, these changes also affected the nuclear negotiating team. The seven deputies of the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council are: Ali Shamkhani, deputy in charge of defence issues; Abdol-Reza Rahmani Fazli, deputy in charge of cultural and publicity issues; Seyyed Ali Hoseynitash, deputy in charge of strategic issues; Mohammad Monfared, deputy in charge of political issues and foreign policy; Mohammad Ja’fari, deputy in charge of domestic security; Mohammad Nahavandian, deputy in charge of economic issues; and Javad Va’idi, deputy in charge of international issues, international organizations and the Agency [IAEA] in the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. Although for a while Rahmani Fazli was transferred to the Ministry of Interior, after a short time he returned to the Supreme National Security Council.

Later on, Hoseyn Entezami, the founder of Jam-e Jam newspaper – the media mouthpiece of the Voice and Vision – was appointed as the spokesman of the Supreme National Security Council. Entezami replaced Ali Aqa Mohammadi, and after a while he became the managing director of Hamshahri newspaper, the mouthpiece of Tehran municipality.

With those changes, the nuclear negotiating team was transformed. Although initially Larijani himself would personally meet with Solana, the official in charge of the foreign affairs of the European Union, and nothing was heard about the team; nevertheless, in later meetings Ali Hoseynitash and Javad Va’idi – deputy secretaries of the Supreme National Security Council, also accompanied Larijani, the Council’s secretary, in those negotiations. Ali Asghar Soltaniyyeh, Iran’s representative in the International Atomic Energy Agency, was also chosen as the new member of the negotiating team and he replaced Sirus Naseri. In addition to Soltaniyyeh, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, another member of the negotiating team, is also affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from an organizational point of view.

Originally published by E’temad-e Melli, Tehran, in Persian 21 Oct 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Middle East. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.