Oct 6, 2014

In an exclusive interview with Fars News, Ali Younesi, the former intelligence minister and current adviser for President Hassan Rouhani on ethnic and religious minority affairs, spoke about a wide range of issues, including his time as intelligence minister, his role in the 2013 elections, the nuclear negotiations and his statements that the current intelligence minister still does not have full control of the agency.

On the nuclear negotiations, Younesi said, “I am not very optimistic, but the sides are inclined to achieve a conclusion and the Americans are more inclined than the other countries. Some countries that appear as friends, such as Russia and China, are not inclined at all for the negotiations to reach a conclusion. Neither hard-line groups in Iran or America are inclined toward a nuclear agreement. And Israel’s lobby in America has a large role.”

Younesi is not part of the nuclear negotiation team led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. While Younesi has a long working relationship with Rouhani, it was not clear from the interview if he was speaking simply of his own assessment of the respective positions within the talks or expressing frustration that hard-liners are making things difficult.

On the 2013 presidential elections, Younesi said that he knew Rouhani would win because after eight years of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran needed a change. He said that Rouhani and former speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri (who decided not to run) were the only two people he felt could bring about this change and attract support from both sides.

During the campaign, Younesi worked for Rouhani, who he described as a Principlist politician. One of Younesi’s main tasks, which he described as “very difficult,” was to convince Reformist groups and parties to vote for Rouhani. Younesi said he turned down the offer of another stint as intelligence minister because of his campaign role.