Molavi Abdol-Hamid Does Not Support Any Candidate…Yet

A spokesman for Molavi Abdol-Hamid Esma’il-Zahi, considered the most senior Sunni religious leader in Iran, said that the Friday Imam of the Zahedan Mosque has not determined if he will support any candidate at this stage. The question came after another senior Sunni leader endorsed Ebrahim Raisi this week, and amid rumours that Raisi’s campaign team had met with Abdol-Hamid in Zahedan at the end of May. Abdol-Hamid endorsed Hassan Rouhani in 2013, which led to a large percentage of Iran’s Sunni minority, especially in Baluchistan, to vote for him.

Read more at Eghtesad.

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Mehr-Alizadeh is Reform Front Candidate

The Reform Front today endorsed Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh as their candidate in this election. The Reform Front had held meetings with both Mehr-Alizadeh and Abdol-Naser Hemmati, and decided to support Mehr-Alizadeh as he is a Reformist, while Hemmati has expressed a greater desire to run as an independent. The Reform Front had endorsed 14 candidates before the election, but none were approved to run in the campaign.

Read more at IRNA

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IRIB Grants Raisi Extra Rebuttal Time, Hemmati Protests

A representative for Ebrahim Raisi wrote to the Election Campaign section of the IRIB, the national broadcaster, asking for addition airtime for Raisi to respond to statements made by Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh and Abdol-Naser Hemmati. The IRIB responded, granting Raisi an additional five minutes in the second debate. Hemmati tweeted in outrage, saying that if Raisi is granted five extra minutes to respond to slander, then he deserves at least 20 extra minutes to respond to false accusations from the “cover candidates”, meaning the five candidates other than Raisi.

Read about the IRIB decision at Hamshahri
Read Hemmati’s response on Twitter

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Soleimani’s Daughter: I Am Not Part of Raisi’s Campaign, I Don’t Support a Candidate

In response to an article that called upon the family of Qasem Soleimani to support the campaign of Ebrahim Raisi, the late Qods Force Commander’s daughter, Zeinab Soleimani stated, “reports of my involvement with Mr Raisi’s campaign are lies and as I have said before, Commander Soleimani’s family will not support any candidate in the election”. Zeinab Soleimani asked all candidates to refrain from misusing her late father’s name and legacy in their campaigning.

Read more at Khabaronline

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Zakani: I Am the Leader of the Reformists

Conservative candidate Ali-Reza Zakani described himself as the head of the Reformists, saying he has done a great deal towards reforming and transforming the country. However, he clarified what he meant by adding “if we consider the Reformists as a political sect, they have sabotaged so much that I believe society does not give acknowledge them”. Zakani also once again reacted angrily when asked if he was a cover candidate for Ebrahim Raisi.

Read more at Eghtesad

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Mehr-Alizadeh Documentary Airs, Censored

The first campaign documentary of Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh aired tonight, although parts of the original were censored. The removed sections amounted to 5-6 minutes of the 27 minute documentary, and included speeches by former Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, and by disqualified candidates Mostafa Tajzadeh and Masoud Pezeshkian. The documentary focused on the disqualification of candidates and the backlash by voters. Mehr-Alizadeh had anticipated this censorship and had leaked a trailer earlier in the evening which included the sections that were eventually cut.

Read more at Khabaronline
Watch the uncensored version on YouTube

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Ghazizadeh Capitalises on Debate Performance

Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi appeared on television today to reiterate his plans for government after his well-received performance in the electoral debate the night before. Ghazizadeh covered economic, social and political problems, stating that he believed in a rule of law and felt close to the people of Iran. On the issue of factionalism, he stated that “Iran’s main problem is not about being Principalist or Reformist, the problem is in the approach [to government]; there must be a transformation in the government”.

Read more at IRNA

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