Akbar Aelmi was a representative in the sixth and seventh Majlis (years 2000 to 2008). ‎He spoke to Rooz about Iran’s relations with the US, upcoming presidential election in ‎‎2009 in Iran, and other current issues facing Iran. Read on for the details.‎

Rooz (R): What are the chances of Mr. Ahmadinejad in next year’s presidential election? ‎Are you too going to be a candidate in that race?‎

Akbar Aelmi (AA): If the elections are held in a fair and free manner, and qualified and ‎effective people get the right to be candidates, and the race turn really competitive, I ‎think Mr. Ahmadinejad will be the first president to have a mere 4 term presidency, ‎without going into the second term. About my own candidacy, I said at the gathering of ‎the Etemad Melli party sometime ago in response to a similar question, that being elected ‎to public office is a social right and if “earthly gods” allowed me and others to enjoy this ‎right, then I would use it to become a candidate. At the moment, I am evaluating the ‎conditions.‎

R: It appears that some changes are in the way in US-Iran relations over the past few ‎months. Do you think that after the election in Iran, talks between the US with Obama ‎and Iran would get more serious?‎

AA: Since the 1979 revolution, there have been many opportunities that did provide for ‎the reestablishment of relations. But because Iran’s foreign policy was not clear which ‎was under influence of pressure groups on one hand and the anti-Iranian lobby groups in ‎the US on the other, these opportunities were lost. Now that power in Iran is exclusively ‎in the hands of hardliners, relations with the US are in the interest of those in power. That ‎is why we observe an impatience and desire to have relations with the US, which is ‎unprecedented. It is noteworthy that now talking about relations with the US is not met ‎with opposition and pressure from hardliners.‎

R: Do you think talks with the US are inevitable?‎

AA: Talks between Iran and the US are inevitable and no country suffers a loss by ‎holding talks. Talks have in fact been held at lower levels and they will continue at higher ‎levels now that Obama has come to power in the US. I believe Iran and the US have ‎many common interests which alone is sufficient to hold talks and promote the common ‎interests.‎

R: As a person who has spent years in the country executive and legislative branches of ‎government what specific roadmaps exist for breaking through this impasse?‎

AA: Relative resolution of the current problems, including Iran’s economic situation, ‎require five conditions:‎

‎1-The necessary determination for political development and expansion of political and ‎cultural freedoms within law, To achieve this, it is necessary that conditions be crated to ‎that the majority of people enjoy the right to vote and be voted for,‎

‎2-A redirection of our foreign policy and proper relations with the world,‎

‎3-Detailed planning for the use of resources and expenditures emanating from national ‎wealth and distancing from populist and pauper type policies,‎

‎4-The use of capable resources in the management of the country and a detailed ‎supervision of the performance of civil institutions, and, ‎

‎5-Reduction of unnecessary expenses by the government, and investments in productive ‎activities.‎