IRGC officer Rostam Ghasemi officially announced his candidacy today, after more than a month of campaigning, stating that he would focus on fixing Iran’s economic problems and that he was ready “to make Iran proud”. Ghasemi is a controversial figure; an Oil Minister under Ahmadinejad, he is on an EU sanctions list, was the target of an apparent assassination attempt in Lebanon in March, and recently involved himself in a war of words with the Foreign Ministry regarding the extent of the IRGC presence in Yemen.
