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, includinghis time as intelligence minister, his role in the 2013 elections, thenuclear negotiationsandhis 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 Israels lobby in America has a large role.
Younesi is not part of the nuclear negotiation team led by Foreign MinisterMohammad 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.
Read more here
The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.
