Scott Lucas
Connections
Quotes
The official answer is that it's based on the qualifications of the candidates and their suitability under an Islamic system ... But what we have previously seen is candidates saying, 'Look, I’m suitable to run,' but their critics saying they're not suitable to run. So, with the council’s decision, there’s no published record of how they reach decisions. They simply declare that these are the people who can go forward.
The problem is that you almost destroy the image of the legitimacy of the election if you don’t let [Rafsanjani] run
The whole argument of the establishment, or at least the supreme leader’s inner circle, was that they wanted a very straight-forward election with a clearly defined candidate who would almost be anointed in June ... Because they couldn’t find that candidate, that opened up the space for Rafsanjani to put himself forward. At this point, I think he’s the leading candidate in terms of being able to mobilize a popular support. He may be the only candidate that can do that.More quotes »
Around the web
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Iran Today: A Week In The Presidential Election
Is Fars News Endorsing Saeed Jalili? Joanna Paraszczuk and Scott Lucas write: In the week since registration for potential presidential candidates closed and the Guardian Council began to vet the almost 700 Iranians who put down their names to run, Iran' from Enduring America Read more »
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Turkey Audio Feature: Kurdish Fighters Withdraw From Turkey To Iraq
A PKK fighter works on her laptop after arriving in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on 14 May 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara. (Photo: AFP -Safin Hamed) EA's Scott Lucas spoke with Monocle 24's The Daily on Thursday night from Enduring America Read more »
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Weight Watchers looks to light a fire under first responders in Maine
Last winter, Jackie Conn decided she needed to help Maine’s first responders to get fit. Conn, general manager of Weight Watchers in Maine, learned that a friend of her daughter’s had lost her father, a firefighter, to a heart attack. The Worcester, Mass from Bangor Daily News Read more »
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Rafsanjani Candidacy Draws Fire From Iran's Hard-Liners
Influential former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has drawn sharp criticism from Iran's ruling establishment after he filed a last-minute application for candidacy in the country’s June 14 presidential election. After months of speculation, Rafsa from Payvand News of Iran Read more »
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Syria Audio Analysis: Have US & Britain Changed Their Lines?
EA's Scott Lucas spoke with Monocle 24's The Briefing this afternoon about the latest US and British rhetoric on Syria. Listen from 17:26 on The Briefing homepage or in a separate pop-out window In a week when British Prime Minister David Cameron met Rus from Enduring America Read more »