Kerry: Election won’t
resolve nuclear issues
Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday he is not optimistic that Iran's upcoming election will produce any change in the country's nuclear ambitions, which the U.S. and others believe are aimed at developing atomic weapons. He also reiterated the long-standing U.S. position that it would be "unacceptable" for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Kerry's comments came as the Obama administration again ramped up sanctions against Iran to try to force it to prove that its nuclear intentions are peaceful by cutting off much-needed outside state revenue. Kerry said any shift in Iran's nuclear policy will come from the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and not the winner of the June 14 presidential election. Khamenei has final say on all state matters. Kerry said Iran's persistent defiance of international demands to come clean about its nuclear program makes the world more dangerous. Iran insists its nuclear program is intended for civilian energy production.
Iran's ailing economy, hit hard by international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, was supposed to be the center of the first debate Friday between eight hopefuls running for president — but the biggest fight on stage was over the format of the debate itself.
The candidates complained about the short time given to answer questions, and when the moderator began asking yes-or-no and multiple-choice questions, several candidates outright refused to answer, saying it seemed too much like a demeaning school test.
The four-hour debate, the first of three to be aired live on national television, was the public's first look at all eight candidates approved by Iran's ruling clerics to enter the June 14 election to succeed outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The clerics' vetting process eliminated several prominent wild cards and left tightly controlled choices for voters between political figures who are largely seen as close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Economic woes are a key issue in the election: Inflation has shot up to around 30 percent and unemployment to 14 percent. And the economy is a sector where the president can have major influence — as opposed to other major issues like the nuclear program, which is firmly Khamenei’s purview.
International sanctions imposed by the West over its nuclear program have been a significant factor in Iran's economic problems. The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, a charge Tehran denies.
Still, with the president holding little say over the nuclear portfolio, the candidates mentioned it only vaguely in terms of reducing their effects.
Hard-liner Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to the supreme leader, called for "reconciliation with the world," saying Iran cannot meet its capacity without improving ties with the world and other countries. He did not elaborate further.
Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Iran must find a "logical solution for the sanctions" to tackle inflation. He called the current situation "tragic," noting limits on cargo shipping because of banking, insurance and oil embargoes.
Candidates also tackled Ahmadinejad's policies, particularly his steps to cut subsidies that suck up a large part of Iran's budget and replace them with cash for the poor. Several were sharply critical, though they promised to continue the cash payments.
Pro-reform candidate Mohammad Reza Aref — who was a vice president under Ahmadinejad’s predecessor, reformist Mohammed Khatami — gave the strongest note of criticism of the ruling establishment, saying “the problem of the economy is the conservatives’ domination over it.”
“Interference of some military people and military-affiliated companies in the economy has limited space for participation,” he said, in an apparent indirect reference to the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s extensive business interests.
The debate’s liveliest moments, however, were about the debate format itself.
When the moderator began asking a series of yes-or-no and multiple-choice questions, Aref objected that it was beneath his dignity. “I’m not answering these questions,” he said.
The moderator pushed ahead with a few questions, but gave up after several other candidates objected as well. “The question is bad,” several scoffed at one point.
“I’m totally against this line. I answered test questions 40 or 50 years ago,” the 61-year-old Aref fumed.
“You should have asked the candidates before and consulted with them over the manner of the debate,” former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rohani chided the moderator.
The moderator ended at question number eight, though he still had 16 more to go.
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