Reformist candidate Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh said that for the country to move forward, all factions need to put their differences aside and think only of the future. Mehr-Alizadeh added that if elected, “I promise to be the president of all Iranians, regardless of any language, religion and thought”. Invoking his religion (Islam), his country (Iran) and his background (Azerbaijani), Mehr-Alizadeh declared “let’s all come together to build Iran for all Iranians”.
According to Ebrahim Raisi’s campaign headquarters, the Chief Justice does not have a Twitter page, and there is no direct relation between accounts that support Raisi and the candidate himself. The statement comes after an account believed to be the official Raisi page went live on Twitter, only to immediately be trolled by Abdol-Naser Hemmati.
The IRIB has decided to change the dates of the candidates’ debates as they will conflict with the Iranian national football team’s World Cup Qualifier matches. The first debate will now take place on Saturday June 5, two days earlier than originally scheduled, with the second and third debates moved to Tuesday June 8 and Saturday June 12 respectively. This marks a reversal of IRIB’s policy; on Monday, the Director of the IRIB refused a request by the Ministry of Interior to change the dates.
Mohsen Rezaei became the latest candidate to have a program not aired at the allocated time. Rezaei said that the radio requested he remove a section where members of the public express reluctance to vote. Rezaei vowed to publish it uncensored on social media adding that “we had a Revolution to hear the voice of the people”.
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.
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.
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.
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]”.
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
The campaign documentary of Abdol-Naser Hemmati was not aired at the allocated time tonight. The IRIB, stated that the documentary was not delivered to the broadcaster by the required deadline and could not be aired. Hemmati disputed this, saying that the IRIB asked him to remove a few scenes which he refused.
Read the IRIB statement here
Read Hemmati’s response on Twitter