(Wall Street Journal Europe) Con Coughlin - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, is the final arbiter of all decisions relating to Iran's nuclear development. In yet another example of the double standards that dominate Tehran's political culture, at the same time that the ayatollah was backing his president's diplomatic initiative, he also appointed Ali Shamkhani, one of the founders of Iran's nuclear program, as the new head of Iran's National Security Council. Shamkhani, a former Revolutionary Guards officer, has long voiced his opposition to any form of compromise. So long as Shamkhani and Ayatollah Khamenei continue to dominate Iran's national-security establishment, Rouhani's room for maneuver in future negotiations with the West will be very limited indeed. The writer is defense editor of London's Daily Telegraph.
2013-10-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive