The sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election has vowed to try to resolve the stand-off with world powers over the nuclear deal “at first chance” if he is elected. In an interview with the Financial Times, Abdolnaser Hemmati, a former central bank governor who is battling hardline rivals in Friday’s vote, said if he won his priorities would be the revival of the 2015 nuclear accord, an agreement to lift US sanctions and attracting foreign investment.
“If the US returns to its commitments under the JCPOA [the nuclear accord] and Iran can verify that they have lifted the sanctions . . . it would be an important step toward trust-building between Iran and the US,” he said. Polls suggest Hemmati is running a distant second to his main hardline rival Ebrahim Raisi and the odds appear stacked against his chances of pulling off a shock victory. But the 64-year-old said he had already asked Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s top diplomat and one of the architects of the nuclear deal, to be in his government.
He added that if sanctions were lifted and conditions improved, a meeting with US president Joe Biden would “not be impossible”. “In general, I do not reject [the possibility of talks with the US] but it will depend on the US’s behaviour and deeds,” he said. “My priority is to lift the sanctions. This is very important,” he added. Hemmati’s comments underscore what is at stake in the election and highlight the differences between the reformist and his hardline rivals after four years of hostilities between Tehran and the Trump administration.
Raisi, the frontrunner, has suggested that if he wins he will support ongoing negotiations between Tehran and the nuclear deal’s remaining signatories — the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China — that are intended to broker an agreement that would lead to the US rejoining the accord and the removal of sanctions.
But analysts say Raisi, far more conservative is expected to adopt a not prioritise relations with