Hemmati Meets with Hassan Khomeini

Abdol-Nasser Hemmati met with Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, for nearly 2 hours where the candidate discussed his plans for the presidency with the influential figure. Although he did not explicitly express support for Hemmati, the meeting was warm and Khomeini, who withdrew his candidacy at the request of the Supreme Leader, clearly still intends to play a role in this election. 

Read more at Modara

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Mehr-Alizadeh on Clubhouse

Reformist candidate Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh appeared on Clubhouse to outline his plans for government and answer questions. On his government, he promised to increase subsidies for the lowest income earners, and added that he planned to include three women in his cabinet. Mehr-Alizadeh also said that he hoped that Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif would be involved in his administration. Mehr-Alizadeh fielded questions on ethnic issues in Iran, saying that he was “a son of Azerbaijan” and a “son-in-law of Isfahan”, arguing that all Iranians were worried about their country, regardless of ethnic, language or tribal differences. Mehr-Alizadeh also took aim at Ebrahim Raisi, accusing him of being responsible for the 2014 acid attacks in Isfahan.

Read more at Borna

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Mehr-Alizadeh Declares His Campaign Colour is Black

Reformist candidate Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh announced that he had chosen the colour black to represent his campaign, as a symbol of his empathy with Iranians who have died of COVID. Black also holds significance in Shi’ism as a colour of mourning for holy figures. The use of colours to represent campaigns has increased in elections in recent decades, with most notable examples being purple representing Hassan Rouhani’s campaign in 2013, and, more controversially, green representing Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s campaign in 2009.

Read more at IRIB

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Zakani: Don’t Call Me a Cover Candidate

Ali-Reza Zakani reacted angrily to a question on television program today about whether he is a cover candidate for Ebrahim Raisi. Zakani said that the question was insulting to both him and Raisi, emphasising he had presented a sophisticated platform for the presidency and that perhaps he had “more plans [for government] than the other six [candidates]”. 

Read more at IRIB

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Guardian Council Implies Hemmati Could Be Disqualified

Following remarks made by Abdol-Naser Hemmati on air in which he criticised the harassment of women for not observing proper hijab, Ahmad Khatami, a senior clerical member of the Guardian Council said Hemmati’s comments went against Islamic rules on women and the veil in public places, and warned Hemmati that he should be careful since adherence to Islam is legally necessary for candidates in elections. Several commentators interpreted this as a threat that Hemmati, who is shaping up as the main challenger to front-runner Ebrahim Raisi, may be disqualified before election day. These commentators linked Ahmad Khatami’s comments to a statement on May 7 by another Guardian Council member, Hadi Tahan Nazif, that candidates can be disqualified during the campaign period if it is determined by the Guardian Council that they are no longer eligible. For his part, Hemmati said that he will not censor himself, even if it risks his disqualification, and he is merely reflecting the views of the majority of the people.

Read Ahmad Khatami’s comments at Didbaniran
Read Hemmati’s response at ILNA

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Raisi Outlines Housing Plan

Referring to construction as a locomotive driving the economy, spokesman Afshin Parvinpour outlines Ebrahim Raisi’s plan to build four million houses for low income families over the next four years. Parvinpour said Raisi’s team had been working on the plan for seven months, that project will be financed from bank resources and designed by a strong financial team, and will not put pressure on the budget.

Read more at IRNA

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