Prominent Reformist politician Mostafa Hashemi-Taba gave his bleak assessment of the electoral situation in an interview. He stated that neither the Reformists nor the Principalists had strong candidates, and the electorate does not seem that engaged this time. Hashemi-Taba said that while Ebrahim Raisi is something of a favourite, that he will only win if there is a poor turnout.
Candidate Masoud Pezeshkian criticised “extremists” for arguing for a delay in negotiations on the JCPOA until after the election, saying that these Iranian extremists were the same as Israeli and American opponents to the nuclear deal. Pezeshkian added that these extremists believe if the new deal is signed before the election then the Reformists will win the Presidency, and therefore their approach to the nuclear negotiations is through self-interest, not the national interest.
In response to a question about most of Rouhani’s supporter base being Reformists, candidate Mostafa Kavakebian stated that he had no regrets about voting for the President as a Reformist, even when he had been an unsuccessful candidate running against Rouhani. Kavakebian added that this was normal for Reformists: “When our party has a candidate who isn’t approved, we seek out the [approved] candidate that is better than the others; at that time, we recognised it was Rouhani”.
Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Zare Foumani of the People’s Reform Party announced that he will nominate for President, adding that “we supported Mr Rouhani in 2013, which was wrong, and we apologize to the people and hope they will accept our apology”. The People’s Reform Party was led by Mehdi Karroubi until 2009, after which Zare Foumani, who did not dispute the election result, became leader.
Ali Motahari said that the hijab is optional in Iran, but 80% of Iranians support it. He added that the 20% who do not should not be interfered with. Motahari’s comments are in the context of a recent Clubhouse appearance where he compared non-veiling to nudity and made some racist and misogynistic comments regarding male attention to women. Motahari’s statement that the hijab is optional do not correspond with Iranian law.
Mehdi Karroubi, a former candidate who has been under house arrest since opposing the result of the 2009 election, was hospitalised over the weekend. The 83-year-old had broken vertebrae after falling over at home. The home detention without charge for Karroubi and another former candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, remains to sensitive issue for the Iranian government and has emerged already in campaigning.
In a sign of continuing tension between the military and civilian arms of Iranian government, Rostam Ghasemi, who is a deputy economic directory of the Qods Force, criticised the Department of Foreign Affairs, saying “you have forgotten the policies of the Revolution”. Ghasemi had made comments earlier in the week regarding an Iranian military presence in Yemen which Foreign Affairs quickly denied, saying Iran’s support was only diplomatic.
A member of the Executives of Construction Party, a key Reformist group, told IRNA that the son of former President Rafsanjani, Mohsen Hashemi, has two conditions for running for president: a guarantee that the Guardian Council will approve his candidacy, and united support from all Reformist factions. Both conditions seem unlikely to be confirmed. Hashemi’s sister, Faezeh Hashemi, had also raised the prospect of running although she recently said she will not participate.
Hassan Sobhani stated that one of his main objectives is to return Iran to the principals of the Revolution and the Constitution, adding that “I think the inconsistencies that are the source of our existing troubles are due to a departure from the principles and ideals of the Revolution and the Constitution”. Sobhani has campaigned in the last two elections on similar lines, and has never been approved by the Guardian Council.
Although he has not declared his candidacy yet, former speaker of the parliament Ali Larijani has started showing signs that he is intending to nominate. His social media accounts have increased the number of items they have been sharing, mostly videos of his speeches talking of the issue of Covid, and directly addressing the election itself. Although a conservative, Larijani is considered a viable candidate by the Reformist faction.