Ahmadinejad tightens grip on politics after resignation of top nuclear negotiator

FE Team | Published: October 22, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

TEHRAN, Oct 21 (AFP): Five months ahead of crucial elections, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has tightened his grip on Iranian politics after the resignation of his top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, analysts say.
The surprise Saturday resignation of Larijani, a conservative who nonetheless harboured significant differences with Ahmadinejad, is the latest development in a series of moves that have seen Ahmadinejad increase his policy influence.
In August, Ahmadinejad reshuffled his economic team, sacking his oil and industry ministers and then accepting the resignation of the central bank head to strengthen his say over economic policy.
Analysts in Iran believe the replacement of Larijani by Ahmadinejad loyalist Saeed Jalili will give the hardline president more influence over nuclear policy at a time of mounting tensions with the West.
"It is a step towards consolidating the camp of Ahmadinejad and shutting the door to any kind of difference," said political analyst Mohhamad Sadegh al-Hosseini.
"It is a prelude to confirming the line-up in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections" on March 14, 2008 and in summer 2009, he said.
The conservative news website Tabnak, the new version of the influential Baztab site that was shut down by the government said: "The appointment of Jalili will mean that the secretary of the security council is more in harmony with the government."
Reformist analyst Saeed Leylaz added: "This is a sign of a change of strategy and policy to speed things up and also a sign of increased radicalism."
That Larijani did not see eye-to-eye with Ahmadinejad, at least on how to present Iran's position on the nuclear issue, was no secret, although the differences were never aired in public.
But it was conspicuous that each time Larijani gave a speech or held important talks, Ahmadinejad would try to steal the limelight with a pronouncement of his own on the nuclear programme.
And given that Larijani was a rival candidate in the 2005 presidential elections, it is hardly surprising the men have different ideas, even if in Iranian politics such disagreements are rarely made explicit.
Alex Bigham, head of the London-based Foreign Policy Centre's Iran research programme, said that there were two chief reasons for Larijani's sudden exit.
"One is his longstanding disagreement with Ahmadinejad over how to handle the nuclear dispute with the UN, and the second reason is his own political ambitions," he said.