Abdol-Nasser Hemmati said that he aimed to be “the voice of the majority of people protesting against the current situation”, adding that he had an achievable plan to fix the economic situation. Hemmati described himself as a “third voice”, neither Reformist nor Principalist. Hemmati’s comments tread a fine line in Iran, which has experienced two large waves of protest which were violently suppressed over the past four years. 

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Independent candidate and economist Hassan Sobhani stated today that while he had been against subsidies in the past, he was also opposed to eliminating them. However, Sobhani said it was irresponsible how some candidates made promises of subsidies to win the popular vote: “the people’s economic fragility should not be abused in order to achieve the power”. The government has historically subsidised many daily items, such as bread and fuel, and the removal of these subsidies has caused violent unrest, most recently in late 2019. Sobhani’s comments can be interpreted as a swipe at other candidates, notably election favourite Ebrahim Raisi, who in 2017 promised an increase in subsidies as part of his election campaign.

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