Nov 26, 2015

TEHRAN, Iran — Whenever Iran is about to hold an election, the country’s two main political camps — conservatives and Reformists — start asking their most prominent figures to step forward and assume leadership. With parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections due in February 2016, Ali Akbar Nategh-Nuri is once again in the spotlight.

Nategh-Nuri is currently the head of the supreme leader's inspection office. In the past, he has served as parliament Speaker, among other prominent duties, reflecting his position as one of the most respected and influential figures in the conservative camp. In the 1997 presidential election, Nategh-Nuri was defeated by Mohammad Khatami — then a lesser-known Reformist figure — stunning many political observers. Following Khatami’s victory, the conservative leadership was put on Nategh-Nuri’s shoulders, who tried his best to provide direction amid a critical turning point. In Nategh-Nuri’s telling, his efforts culminated in the conservative victory in the Islamic Republic’s first city council elections in 1999, and also the 2004 parliamentary vote. Yet, despite the growing calls for Nategh-Nuri to directly enter the fray at that time, he steered clear of personally contesting any vote.

As the 2005 presidential election was approaching, several conservative figures announced their candidacies, including Ali Larijani (current parliament Speaker), Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (current mayor of Tehran), Mohsen Rezaie (former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander), Ali Akbar Velayati (head of the Center for Strategic Research), Ahmad Tavakoli (member of parliament) and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Coordinating Council of Conservatives, chaired by Nategh-Nuri, then selected Larijani as the final candidate in a bid to preempt a splitting of the conservative vote, asking other conservative leadership. Of note, Nategh-Nuri was seriously opposed to Ahmadinejad’s decision to run for office in 2005. Commenting on a meeting with Ahmadinejad back then, Nategh-Nuri has publicly stated, “When Ahmadinejad explained his agenda for the presidency, I told him, 'I listened to you carefully, but either didn’t understand anything, or you spoke beyond my knowledge [with sarcasm].'” Prior to the selection of Larijani as its final candidate, Ahmadinejad had threatened the Coordination Council of Conservatives that he would step forward if it didn’t select him as its man. Indeed, Ahmadinejad won the election against all odds.

In the disputed 2009 presidential election, Ahmadinejad managed to retain his position with the full support of the conservative camp. During the televised presidential debates, Ahmadinejad accused Nategh-Nuri’s sons of corruption on the air. None of Nategh-Nuri’s old friends in the conservative camp defended him, contributing to his subsequent absence in the meetings of the Combatant Clergy Association, an important clerical party inside the conservative camp. Overall, Nategh-Nuri did not speak out much under Ahmadinejad, though he broke his silence on a few occasions and attacked Ahmadinejad for what he referred to as mismanagement.

After Ahmadinejad left office, Nategh-Nuri demanded that the former president be put on trial. Without using any names, he said, “A person assumed a responsibility in the country and squandered the country’s money however he wanted; I was told that during his tenure, it was not right to stop him, and now that he is gone, I’m told that it is not fair to give him trouble. So how and when do we make a decision to get people’s money back?”