Rezaei Unveils Housing Plan

Citing his experience from the Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaei outlined his plans for solving Iran’s housing crisis. Rezaei said that he will encourage banks to offer loans on a 10% deposit, and interest payments of up to 18% will be covered by the government as a subsidy, with the mortgage holder only required to pay the price of the house. Rezaei added that with this plan, he can build 2 million houses per year and attract foreign investment to drive the economy forward.

Read more at Mashregh

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IRGC Does not back Any Candidate

Commander Yadollah Javani, the political deputy of the Revolutionary Guards, said that the IRGC does not play any role in elections and “does not have a candidate, nor does the institution support any particular person on the list”. The issue of “military candidates” has been controversial throughout this campaign, although none of the approved candidates have tried to portray themselves in that way.

Read more at IRNA

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Rostam Ghasemi Registers

Senior IRGC officer and former Petroleum Minister Rostam Ghasemi was another high-profile candidate to register today. Ghasemi, who is on an EU sanctions list owing to his position in the IRGC, has had a colourful campaign so far, having been the target of an attempted assassination in Lebanon in March, and calling the Foreign Ministry unpatriotic in April after it disputed claims that he made about Iran’s support for the Houthis in Yemen.

Read more on Mehr

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Hossein Dehghan Registers

Former IRGC Air-Force Officer and former Minister of Defence (2013-2017), Hossein Dehghan, arrived at registrations today in a suit rather than military uniform, and holding hands with his wife. Declaring the end of celebrity politics, Dehghan said “I come today with a real understanding of the demands and anger of the people, and with plans for the problems of the society”.

Read more and watch footage at Khabaronline

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Saeed Mohammad Registers

Saeed Mohammad registered his candidacy just after 10am, saying his early registration represented his “determination to participate in the elections”. Mohammad arrived in a suit rather than military uniform, saying that he was running as an independent and would not be subject to any faction, adding that “the country has suffered many blows from the bipolar atmosphere of society. My basis is meritocracy”.

Read more and watch the video at IRNA

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Saeed Mohammad: I Do Not Expect IRGC Support

Saeed Mohammad made it clear today that he does not expect any support from the IRGC for his campaign: “The Revolutionary Guards is a military institution and I do not expect the IRGC to support me in the Presidential elections”. Mohammad added that he appreciated that this was reflective of the nature of the IRGC which is “not legally allowed to support anyone in elections”. Mohammad had previously clashed with current members of the IRGC who disputed the circumstances of his resignation from the Corps.

Read more on Khabaronline

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Saeed Mohammad gives First Press Conference

Saeed Mohammad gave his first press conference of the campaign today, covering a wide range of issues including the JCPOA, economic mismanagement and the sanctions. Mohammad stated that while he had been invited by the Unity Council to run as one of their candidates, he was in essence an independent. However, if another candidate, such as Ebrahim Raisi, proves more popular than him, he will stand aside. He also lashed out at those who had spread rumours about him, and challenged anyone who had any accusation to publish evidence with their claims.  

Read more at Khabaronline


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Two New Candidates Announce Campaigns

Two new candidates announced they are running for President. Former IRGC and Basij officer Ali-Reza Afshar became the latest military candidate; as the former head of Iran’s Election Headquarters, Afshar has insider knowledge of the workings of the electoral system. The second candidate, Sadegh Khalilian, became the latest Ahmadinejad Era cabinet member to nominate; Khalilian has put forward a conservative anti-corruption economic platform alongside a general repudiation of the current administration’s policies.

Read about Ali-Reza Afshar at FarsNews
Read about Sadegh Khalilian at ISNA

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