Politics & Power Quote by Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

A masterclass in political backpedaling dressed up as statesmanship. Rafsanjani’s line is built to do two things at once: reassure hard-liners at home that he never truly conceded anything, while signaling to foreign counterparts that Iran can still be pragmatic when it suits the moment. The fulcrum is time. By anchoring the remark to “the beginning of the talks,” he turns what might look like a binding commitment into a situational gesture, something said to lubricate negotiations rather than define policy.

The second move is even sharper: “I was president then. I’m not president now.” It’s a disclaimer with teeth. He invokes the authority of his former office to validate the original statement, then immediately withdraws the institutional responsibility that would make it enforceable. In one breath, he claims credibility; in the next, he claims plausible deniability. That tension is the point. In systems where power is distributed across competing centers - formal offices, security institutions, clerical oversight - “I’m not president now” becomes a way to acknowledge reality without confessing failure.

The phrase “sign of goodwill” is diplomatic sugar, but it’s also a hedge: goodwill is voluntary, revocable, and easily reframed as misinterpreted. Rafsanjani isn’t merely clarifying; he’s managing audiences and insulating himself from the costs of compromise. The subtext is that negotiation is theater, and every line is written with domestic blowback in mind.