Qalibaf: Iran's Next President?

Nahid Siamdoust, who's been covering the Majlis elections for us, has an informative interview on time.com today with Tehran Mayor Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf. Depending on the fluctuations of Iranian politics, he could conceivably be Iran's next president.

In the interview with Nahid, Qalibaf, considered a pragmatic conservative, expresses views as well as a tone that are markedly different from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Qalibaf talks about his belief in a centrist Third Wave that will direct Iranian policies in the new parliament.

Check out the full interview, but here's a taste:

On the ideal Iran:

Neither Islam nor the revolution gives us the right to interfere in people's private lives.

On realism:

I was a commander in the war, and we were constantly making decisions in situations of crises. This has affected very much our self-confidence, how our character and attitudes have been shaped, but also our management style, our attention to reason. You can't be irrational in war.

On the economy:

Our economy is public and must be privatized. A bill's been signed and we're in that process, but it's much too slow, and the government is investing massively in business at the same time that it's supposed to privatize its shares of the economy. We need more reason and far-sightedness on the economy, not just looking at our own tenure but beyond that. Otherwise I think the rise in oil prices was a golden opportunity that the government not only didn't take advantage of, but even turned it into a threat to domestic production because of the high volume of imports that the government pursued with the oil money.

On the nuclear dispute and U.N. sanctions:

Our negative relations with the West have an impact on our economy, we can't deny that. Our relations have led to what we see today, which is a third round of sanctions. But this does not mean that because of these problems we will withdraw our claim to our rights. I think the world must accept that the issue of nuclear energy is a technical and legal issue; it is not a political and security issue. However, it is clear that we could have used better means of conveying this to the West and the rest of the world. It is clear that the U.S. doesn't want the progress of this country because that wouldn't fit in with its interests in the region. But we must do our best with the help of the [International Atomic Energy] agency, the E.U. and other international bodies to resolve this issue, and abstain from unnecessary rhetoric. We need to proceed with reason and with a more suitable rhetoric.

On Iraq, the Middle East and America:

Iraq... is under American occupation, not our occupation. The Americans organized elections there and a government arose out of those elections. Since then we have accepted that government and helped it. Iraq is our neighbor... I think in fact that Iran and the U.S. have many common interests in the region; our position in the region should not be one of opposition, but friendly competition with other powers... As the Leader[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] pointed out as well, no one said that there will be conflict between us forever. Not at all. It is not reasonable politics to say we don't ever want relations... . A revolution has happened here and people have chosen a different path, and already, 30 years have passed. The West must believe this path and come talk to us. If the West changes its mind on this, many opportunities will open for both of us.

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo