Associated Press cites several diplomats: Saeed Jalili was a 'disaster' in nuclear negotiations

The Associated Press reports on the diplomatic history of Saeed Jalili, one of the two candidates favored by the government to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, stating that he 'preached about everything at the negotiating table without offering anything.' The report adds that while he may have been Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator for years, he received no praise from the Western diplomats sitting across the table. He wove everything together and spoke ambiguously. At that time, Jalili stated: 'Just as the weaving of Iranian carpets proceeds with precision, delicacy, and millimeter strength, God willing, this diplomatic process will also proceed in the same way.' This waste of time on preaching during meetings halted negotiations in 2008 while then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei advanced the country's nuclear program. The Associated Press adds that William Burns, the former negotiator and current CIA director, recalls in one meeting: 'Jalili could be astonishingly vague when he wanted to avoid direct answers,' adding, 'Jalili once said he still teaches part-time at the University of Tehran. I did not envy his students.' An anonymous French diplomat at the time described one of Jalili's negotiation rounds as a 'disaster.' Another EU diplomat, whose comments were published by WikiLeaks in 2008, provided a similar assessment. This diplomat noted that one EU official who attended Jalili's private and public sessions was astonished by his inability or evasion and called him 'a true product of the Islamic Revolution.' Jalili was endorsed in the 2013 government elections by the late hardliner Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, who once wrote that Iran should not deprive itself of the right to produce 'special weapons,' a veiled reference to nuclear weapons. Jalili has also been endorsed by another hardline Ayatollah, Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, who belongs to the 'Front of Islamic Revolution Stability.' The group supporting Jalili was behind a bill passed by the Islamic Republic's parliament that could impose a 10-year prison sentence for violating hijab laws. This bill has yet to be approved by the Guardian Council under Khamenei's supervision. According to the Associated Press, Jalili's views, described by opponents as 'Taliban-style,' likely risk provoking public anger among people who are still furious after the bloody crackdown by security forces following the protests after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. The day before, the Associated Press reported that many people in the streets of Tehran after the July 8 voting said they did not care about the elections. Leila Sidi, a 23-year-old graphic design student, said: 'I did not vote and will not, because no one has apologized for Mahsa and the subsequent miseries faced by the youth, neither the reformists nor the hardliners.' Ahmad Taheri, a 27-year-old psychology student, said: 'I did not vote because former presidents did not keep their promises,' emphasizing, 'I will not vote next Friday either.' Mohammad Ali Rabati, a 43-year-old electronics engineer and father of two, said the blatant indifference of Iranian officials to the economic pressures on the people led him not to vote. Rabati said: 'After years of economic problems, I have no interest in politics.' Pezeshkian wrote on X that his government will resist the police's enforcement of mandatory hijab and internet restrictions. However, Tahereh Namazi, a 31-year-old math teacher, said she 'will not vote because none of the candidates have made a clear commitment on these issues.' Those who did not vote and spoke with the Associated Press described their decision as their own choice, not part of an organized boycott. The Soufan Center, a think tank based in New York, stated on Monday in an analysis of low public participation: 'The level of voter turnout and blank ballots reflects a denial of the regime's policies, especially the repression of critics and women who refuse to comply with mandatory hijab laws.' The Associated Press concludes its report by noting that Pezeshkian has repeatedly referred to the story of the 'self-sacrificing farmer,' a tale told to almost every Iranian child in school about a farmer in 1961 who took off his shirt and set it on fire to warn the train about rocks blocking the dam. However, those who do not participate in the elections believe the train has already derailed.