Former Nuclear Negotiator Joins Iranian Presidential Race
Hassan Rouhani, a top official during a time of warmer Iranian relations with the West, could be the standard-bearer for the reformist/pragmatist camp in upcoming presidential elections.
The latest addition to what is already becoming a crowded field of Iranian presidential contenders — former national security adviser Hassan Rouhani — could insure that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program figures in what might otherwise be a lackluster campaign.
Rouhani, 64, who announced his candidacy today [April 11], is closely associated with former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has been marginalized since his loss to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 and especially since Ahmadinejad’s disputed 2009 re-election. However, Rouhani kept his head down during post-2009 disturbances and so has a better chance of surviving the vetting process that precedes Iran’s June 14 vote.
