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Iranian campaign adviser: ‘There will be new foreign policy’
By Mick Krever, CNN
One thing is clear in Iran, at least according to an adviser to the president-elect's campaign: The people have rejected the policies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The election of reform-minded Hassan Rouhani is an indication of the mood of the Iranian people, Sadegh Zibakalam, who advised the campaign of the next president, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Monday.
“The most important issue is not to continue with the policies that have been running and guiding Iran during the past, particularly four years,” Zibakalam said. “Moving towards a better conciliatory, realistic, and pragmatic policy – I mean, that is the main issue.”
In a press conference on Monday, Rouhani also struck a conciliatory tone, while reiterating that he would defend Iran’s sovereign rights.
“We don't want to see more tension,” Rouhani said. But the talks with the United States must be based on “mutual respect and interest,” with America acknowledging that “they will never interfere in the domestic affairs of Iran.”
Zibakalam summed up Rouhani’s press conference succinctly.
“He is sending this simple message to the world,” Zibakalam said, “that there has been a real election in Iran, and hopefully, Inshallah, there will be new foreign policy, as far as Iran is concerned.”
Iran’s president must ultimately answer to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, but the president-elect’s adviser warned not to underestimate the importance of Rouhani’s victory.
“You must realize that although the Supreme Leader has tremendous power according to the construction, but he doesn’t take the decision in a vacuum,” Zibakalam said. “Obviously he has seen that … the people are more or less tired of the hardline policies that have been governing Iran.”
@camanpour on Twitter
Good tidings
Take a look at this video! It may help to get educated about Rohani's background (his deep roots with the regime–since 1979 😉
http://youtu.be/P2zC2drRdkw
Talk is cheap
Hello,today's watch programs.
Iran president決まる.国が良い方向に進むように,がんばれIran.
29才:もう暴露やめたほうが良いと思うが.
G8Summit:Syria問題に付いて,少しは進展したのか?!,ジュネーブ会議の,日にちくらいは,決めたのだろうな?!会議も,だらだら無し,１日で結果だす.何回も言います.苦しんでいる国民の事,忘れないで下さい.１日も早く内戦終らせて下さい.
Have a nice day)/~rie matsumoto
Lets c if this will get published....they're all from the same ilk. What lasting effect did the moderate Khatami's presidency have?? Ir'll b same here. Gotta cot off the head of the snake, Khamenei and ALL OF HIS KIBD. If u wear a turban, or ananeh, ur ace is on the mosque and not in tve presidential office. BTW, same for Jews and Christians. Practice u religion in private it's should not bevan electablity issue.
Sorry 4 phat phinger dynd and misspellings
Hello,today's watch programs.
G8Summit:進展無し?!ため息が,でます.
Taliban:和平交渉,良い前進です.平和にいきましょう.
.
Have a nice day)/~rie matsumoto
what the Khamenei regime wants is the perception that a massive voter turnout picked a moderate. He didn’t want a repeat of 2009 and that’s exactly what he got and the media are happily trotting along praising the guy. I just believe that at the end of the day, things really aren’t going to change that much. Iran remains a theocracy, personal liberties are restricted and the economy is crushing because of the regime’s die-hard commitment to building a nuke weapons program. The Iranian people really are the engine of change, but they’ve been denied any chance to get things revved up. To see real efforts at changing the regime, check out irangathering.com for the largest meeting of Iranians outside of Iran.