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Iran: former president Ahmadinejad will run for president on June 28
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad he registered as a candidate at presidential elections on June 28. The registration of the former populist leader puts pressure on the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During his term, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric and his attempt to run in 2021 was prevented by the authorities. The return to the scene of Ahmadinejad, who contests the Holocaust, occurs in a period of strong tensions between Iran and the West due to the rapid advancement of Tehran’s nuclear program, the arming of Russia in the war againstUkraine and for the widespread repression of dissent. It also comes at a time when Iran’s support for proxy militias across the Middle East is coming under increased scrutiny, in a context where rebels Houthis of the Yemen they attack ships in the Red Sea and war rages between Israel And Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Ahmadinejad is the most important candidate who has registered so far. Speaking after his recording, he promised that he would seek “constructive engagement” with the world and try to improve economic relations with all countries. “The economic, political, cultural and security problems go beyond the situation of 2013,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to the year he left the presidency after two terms. The president’s successor will be chosen in the elections on June 28 Ebrahim Raisi Khamenei’s hardline ally, who died in May in a helicopter crash along with 7 other people.
Former President of Parliament Ali Larijania conservative with strong ties to the relatively moderate former Iranian president Hassan Rouhanihas already registered, as has the former head of the Iranian Central Bank Abdolnasser Hemmati, also a candidate in 2021. Who else will seek to run remains in doubt. The interim president of the country, Mohammad Mokhber, previously a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, could be the leading candidate because he has already been seen meeting Khamenei. There is also talk of another possible presidential aspirant, the former reformist president Mohammad Khatami, but, as in the case of Ahmadinejad, the possibility of running is another matter. The 5-day registration period closes on Tuesday and the Guardian Council is then expected to release the final list of candidates within 10 days. This will allow an election campaign reduced to 2 weeks before the vote at the end of June.
Ahmadinejad previously served 2 4-year terms, from 2005 to 2013. Under Iranian law, after a 4-year absence from office he became eligible to run again, but remains a polarizing figure even among his more radical colleagues. His disputed re-election in 2009 sparked massive protests by the so-called ‘Green Movement’ and a vast crackdown in which thousands of people were arrested and dozens killed. Abroad he has become a caricature of Western perceptions of the Islamic Republic’s worst attribute, casting doubt on the Holocaust, insisting that Iran has no gay or lesbian citizens and suggesting that it could build a nuclear weapon if it decided to to do it. But Ahmadinejad remains popular among the lower classes for his populist efforts and home-building programs. Since he left office, he has raised his profile across social networks and written widely publicized letters to world leaders. He has also criticized government corruption, even as his own administration has faced corruption charges and two of his former vice presidents have been jailed.
In 2017, Khamenei warned Ahmadinejad that his re-election would be a “polarized situation” that would be “bad for the country.” Khamenei said nothing during Ahmadinejad’s 2021 bid, when his candidacy was rejected by the Guardian Council, a 12-member group made up of clerics and jurists and overseen by Khamenei. This group has never accepted a woman or anyone calling for a radical change in the country’s governance. The panel could reject Ahmadinejad again. However, the race to replace Raisi has not yet resulted in a candidate with clear and overwhelming support from Khamenei.
Read also: After Raisi’s death only one thing can change (in Iran)
