BackAll 8 Iran candidates toe hard line on nuclear might
Candidates say there will be no backing down, no bargaining away the nation’s perceived right to enrich uranium for power generation
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Tehran: A group of chador-wearing female supporters of Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, cheered wildly when he entered a packed conference hall during a campaign stop at Tehran University last week.
Even his opponent on the far side of Iran’s narrow political spectrum, the cleric Hassan Rowhani—the closest any of the candidates comes to the reformist camp—avoids any mention of the word “compromise" when discussing the nuclear programme. He spends much of his time fending off attacks from political opponents who accuse him of having already sold out the country’s rights when he was the nuclear negotiator by temporarily suspending uranium enrichment while under heavy international pressure in 2004.
“Year after year, America has imposed harsher sanctions on us," said Nader Karimi Joni, an Iranian journalist who is critical of certain state policies. “Now, with these candidates, we see the consequences: The sanctions hurt, but they have made our leaders much more determined."
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