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Al-Monitor -Ever since the passing of prominent Iranian politician Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in January, Ali Akbar Velayati has been attempting to earn the approval of radical Principlists in hopes of presenting himself as the Principlist option.
Velayati is a veteran politician — he held the longest tenure as foreign minister
in the history of the Islamic Republic, serving in that position from 1981 to 1997. His long-time presence on the political stage alongside Rafsanjani resulted in many considering him an ally of the latter. Even during the 2013 presidential debates — although Velayati was one of the three Principlist candidates alongside Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel — he attacked not only Ghalibaf but also hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili. These actions were of great aid to moderate Hassan Rouhani, who eventually emerged as the winner of that vote. While supported by traditional Principlists, Velayati apparently had chosen to form an unofficial coalition with Rouhani in a move that was perhaps premeditated. Indeed, he never criticized Rouhani during the debates and instead focused his attacks on Jalili and the way he had conducted prior negotiations with world powers over Iran’s nuclear program. Ultimately, these actions resulted in many considering him an agent of Rafsanjani dispatched to play a particular role during the elections. As a result, the Reformists were content with Velayati while the Principlists were furious.
Two months after Rouhani’s inauguration in 2013, Rafsanjani appointed Velayati as the head of the Center for Strategic Research. The think tank, which operates under the Expediency Council, had, until the elections, been headed by Rouhani. Principlists saw this as Velayati being rewarded for his actions during the campaigning.
In this vein, Velayati — who also serves as the supreme leader’s foreign policy adviser — was very supportive of Rouhani during Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the six world powers. He gave numerous speeches and interviews in support of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his colleagues, and he responded to all the criticisms against them coming from the Principlist camp. His support was particularly notable considering his advisory position to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But this is not the end of the story of Velayati’s participation in Iranian politics.
After Rafsanjani’s passing earlier this year, a new face emerged of this trained pediatrician on the political stage. Velayati, who was appointed by the supreme leader to replace Rafsanjani as the head of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Azad University (IAU), started to present himself as more radical-leaning and Principlist. IAU is the largest noncorrespondent university in the world and has a branch in almost every Iranian city. It operates under the guardianship of its Board of Trustees, which — because of Rafsanjani’s presence in recent years — was considered as being shaped under his influence and pillared on his viewpoints and beliefs.
Upon taking office, Velayati immediately initiated changes, first by removing the Rafsanjani-appointed president of the university, Hamid Mirzadeh. A month later, on May 28, he also removed Rafsanjani’s son, Yaser, who served as the chief of staff of the head of the board of trustees. Finally, on July 16, Velayati appointed Farhad Rahbar, one of the senior members of the campaign of conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi — the main rival of Rouhani in the 2017 elections — as the head of IAU. These actions resulted in Velayati being accused of wanting to “remove” Rafsanjani from IAU, which — since its founding — has been directly associated with the Rafsanjanis. This was, of course, enthusiastically supported by Principlist media and naturally harshly criticized by Reformist outlets. However, Velayati’s radicalism was not limited to appointing new staff and firing old ones. In a directive on Oct. 29, Velayati ordered the president of IAU’s branch in Arak to fire a professor who argued that hijab is not a product of Islam but rather an idea put forth by Shiism and also expressed doubt about whether hijab prevents sexual corruption in society. The radical and Principlist media outlets, who praised his assertive attitude on the matter, welcomed Velayati’s order.
On Dec. 8, Velayati wrote a letter to the president of the Najafabad branch of IAU in which he harshly criticized the students who had marked Students’ Day by dancing. He said, “You and other officials of IAU must know that a new policy is at work here. We, the officials of IAU, must behave in a way that will demonstrate to people that the guidelines issued by the supreme leader are on the top of our agenda. … The events that took place on Students’ Day … were obscene and detrimental to the honor of both the students and the university itself. Such actions injure the souls of our dear martyrs.”
This approach harshly contrasts with that of Rafsanjani, who interfered in issues such as these when he was head of the board of trustees. Such matters rather used to be under the jurisdiction of the president of the university.
The question remains as to why Velayati has suddenly decided to become more conservative in regard to cultural issues. After losing the 2017 election to Rouhani and the Reformists, the Principlists have few, if any, figures they can put forth as a candidate. This has resulted in heavy competition among various Principlist figures hoping to come out on top. Although parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani appears interested in taking a shot at the presidency in 2021 in spite of his crushing defeat in 2005, it appears that Velayati is also trying to get the approval of the radical Principlists by presenting himself as more politically conservative. However, he does not command much popularity, as seen during the 2013 presidential election. One can thus only wait and see whether his sudden turn to the right is related to dreams of the presidency or another plan.
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Saeid Jafari is an Iranian journalist and Middle East analyst. He has worked for such Iranian publications as Aseman, Khordad, Mosalas and Mehrnameh. He is the editor of the international and diplomatic section of the weekly Seda in addition to working for Khabar Online. Jafari has also published English-language articles in Iran Review. On Twitter: @jafariysaeid
