| Kinda late for that, isn't it? |
Top Iranian cleric Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani  yesterday formally registered as a candidate for the June 17 presidential elections, pledging to save the country from "extremists". But the pragmatic conservative, seen as a clear frontrunner in the race to replace incumbent reformist President Mohammad Khatami, also moved to dismiss any suggestion of tensions at the top of the regime.
"I have always been against extremists," Rafsanjani told reporters after completing his application at the Interior Ministry. "If I am elected, there will be people in my government from all tendencies," said 70-year-old Rafsanjani, seen as a figure who favors closer ties with the West and eager to liberalize the Islamic republic's economy. When asked if he had spoken to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before deciding to launch his presidential bid, Rafsanjani simply replied that the nation's No. 1 "does not intervene regarding personalities".
| "He's the guy in charge. He doesn't care who has the title, as long as he says what goes." |
"In any case, we see each other regularly," Rafsanjani added, in an apparently coded response to speculation that Khamenei has been opposed to his election bid. Rafsanjani told reporters that "Iran can have a positive influence in the region and prevent extremism" and he also weighed into ongoing nuclear tensions by urging "patience" on both sides. "There is not an impasse. The situation is difficult, but the only solution is to talk forever or until we're nuclear-armed continue with the negotiations," he said. "The Europeans should be patient and we should be patient in building confidence." His comments came as Iran appeared determined to back away from a November 2004 deal with Britain, France and Germany and end its suspension of some nuclear activities linked to the sensitive process of enriching uranium. |