Senior Cleric Rules out Alleged Shift in Iran’s N. Policy

Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers leader Ali Jannati dismissed as biased certain analyses presented about the resignation of Iran’s former nuclear negotiator, stressing that Ali Larijani’s replacement with Saeed Jalili would not be followed by a shift in Tehran’s nuclear policy. “Certain media have, unfortunately, promulgated lies and magnified the issue,” Ayatollah Jannati said while addressing worshippers on Tehran University Campus here on Friday.

He blasted media analyses which interpreted Larijani’s replacement with Jalili as departure from Iran’s declared nuclear principles, and said the resignation resulted from the difference in the tastes of officials, reminding that difference of tastes is something natural.

Jannati pointed out that the existence of difference in the tastes of officials is nothing extraordinary and should not have been magnified to such a large extent.

“It is of course very natural for those who work with one another to have different tastes and to propose different strategies, while the ultimate goal is the same,” he said.

The cleric further termed Larijani “a successful man in all posts and positions”, and praised his excellent record as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

Meantime, he described the country’s new negotiator and SNSC Secretary, Saeed Jalili, as “a faithful, pious, competent, wise and smart war veteran.”

Jannati reiterated that Jalili would continue the same policies pursued by Larijani, and said that even during the recent talks in Rome, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has also pointed out that the change would not place a hurdle in the way of negotiations with Iran.

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