Iranians will head to the polls on Friday, June 28, to choose their next president in an early presidential election following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
Iran’s Guardian Council, a 12-member body of jurists which oversees elections and legislation, has approved only six candidates out of more than 80 presidential hopefuls. One of those candidates is moderate, while the other five are hardliners, reported the Associated Press (AP).
The election comes at a tense timing for Tehran, given the regional turmoil resulting from the ongoing war in Gaza, the increased Western pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, and the growing domestic anger over an array of political, economic and social crises.
Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi
He is an incumbent vice president and head of Martyrs’ Foundation. He is a hardliner former lawmaker. Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53 years old, ran in the 2021 presidential election and received under 1 million votes.
In presidential election debates, he downplayed Iran’s need for foreign investment to succeed. He also said that Iran should continue to follow the policies of Raisi.
Saeed Jalili
He is a hardline diplomat and former senior nuclear negotiator. The 58-year-old politician ran in the 2013 presidential election and withdrew from the 2021 election to support Raisi.
Jalili became known as “the living martyr” after losing a leg in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. He believes that Iran doesn’t have to negotiate with the West over its nuclear program. He is not considered to be a front-runner, even though he has close ties to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
Masoud Pezeshkian
Pezeshkian is the only moderate candidate in the presidential election approved by the Guardian Council. The 69-year-old heart surgeon said he want to renegotiate with the West to restore some form of the 2015 nuclear deal, saying it is important for Iran in economic terms.
He has been a vocal critic of Iran’s government for lack of transparency over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody in 2022, sparking nationwide protests. So far, his presidential campaign has focused on youth, women and ethnic minority. However, analysts see Pezeshkian’s victory unlikely.
Mostafa Pourmohammadi
He is the only cleric in the presidential race. Pourmohammadi served as interior minister during the first term of the hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He later served as justice minister under President Hassan Rouhani. In 2006, the US State Department referred to him as a “notorious human rights violator” for his alleged role in the execution of hundreds of prisoners in Tehran in 1988.
Pourmohammadi, 64 years old, insisted that Iran’s next president must deal with the world. He criticized arming Russia because Tehran was not getting enough support from Moscow.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf
He is the current Parliament speaker and a former commander in the Iran Revolutionary Guards. Qalibaf, 62 years old, is the former mayor of Tehran and an ally of Khamenei. He is known for his role in the violent crackdown on Iranian students in 1999 and repressing unrest in 2003 by ordering live gunfire when he was Iran’s police chief.
Qalibaf claims he can save Iran from the crisis, owing to his experience as a manager. He has focused on the middle class, and promised more cash payments for the poor. Analysts expect him to be the front-runner in the presidential election, with Jalili as a second.
Alireza Zakani
Zakani, 58 years old, is the current mayor of Tehran. He withdrew from the 2021 presidential election to endorse Raisi. He is a hardliner who has repeatedly criticized reformists and moderates within Iran’s political system.
He said he believes that Iran can reverse the impacts on international sanctions but should pursue a diplomatic solution. He also wants Iran to abandon the use of dollar as a benchmark currency, promising to revive the Iranian currency, the rial. Zakani promised to provide free health care for women and old people, as well as giving cash payments for the poor.
