Why Iran’s Supreme Leader Wants Jalili for President
With his loyalty to the supreme leader and lack of ties to established groups, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili appears to have Khamenei’s backing.
While Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly said that he does not favor any candidate in the June 14 presidential election, there is growing evidence that nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is the man Khamenei would most like to see replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Monday’s announcement that former speaker of the parliament Gholamali Haddad Adel, whose daughter is married to Khamenei’s oldest son, Mojtaba, is dropping out of the race will improve the chances for remaining conservatives, especially Jalili's.
