Ramin Mehmanparast, who served as spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry during the Ahmadinejad administration, yesterday sought to distance himself from the controversial former President. Mehmanparast stated that “I have no political relationship with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During his presidency, despite some differences of opinion, I was the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked with two foreign ministers, Manouchehr Mottaki and Ali Akbar Salehi”. Mehmanparast, who announced his candidacy on Tuesday, likely directed his comments both to potential voters and to the Guardian Council, which rumour has it has already notified Ahmadinejad that it won’t approve his candidacy.
