Mehr-Alizadeh Documentary Airs, Censored

The first campaign documentary of Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh aired tonight, although parts of the original were censored. The removed sections amounted to 5-6 minutes of the 27 minute documentary, and included speeches by former Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami, and by disqualified candidates Mostafa Tajzadeh and Masoud Pezeshkian. The documentary focused on the disqualification of candidates and the backlash by voters. Mehr-Alizadeh had anticipated this censorship and had leaked a trailer earlier in the evening which included the sections that were eventually cut.

Read more at Khabaronline
Watch the uncensored version on YouTube

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Mehr-Alizadeh: Let’s Put Our Differences Aside

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”.

Read more at Mashregh

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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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Rezaei attacks Hemmati and Raisi

Mohsen Rezaei took aim at Abdol-Naser Hemmati’s record as Governor of the Central Bank in an interview today. Rezaei, who is putting himself forward as an expert on economy, saying that Hemmati has abandoned control over liquidity during his term as Governor, and allowed inflation to get out of control. Rezaei also made a reference to the protection of Ebrahim Raisi, mentioning comments by the Tehran Prosecutor that criticism of the judiciary by the candidates constitutes a red line. Reformist candidate Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh also criticised the red line issue, saying that Raisi should have resigned as Chief Justice by now and implying he was using his position to deflect criticism.

Read and watch Rezaei’s interview at Tasnim
Read Mehr-Alizadeh’s Tweet on Twitter

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The Interior Ministry Announces Candidates

The official list of candidates approved by the Guardian Council was announced this afternoon at the Election Headquarters by the Ministry of Interior. The list, which was one of Iran’s worst kept secrets, includes seven names: Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Abdol-Naser Hemmati, Saeed Jalili, Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh, Ebrahim Raisi, Mohsen Rezaei and Ali-Reza Zakani. Notable disqualifications include Ali Larijani and Eshaq Jahangiri, most of whom accepted disqualification, with the expected exception of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The only Reformist among their number is Mehr-Alizadeh.

Read the announcement at IRNA

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Mehr-Alizadeh: The People of Iran are Inherently Reformist

Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh, the only Reformist candidate approved by the Guardian Council in this election, said in an interview with ISNA that the people of Iran are inherently Reformist, pointing to the Tobacco Rebellion and Constitutional Revolution as historic reminders of the Iranian desire to improve their country through politics. He criticised the idea of Reformist and Principalist as political factions, saying that “these categorisations are not appropriate at all, and the only result of this approach is conflict and internal incoherence”.

Read the interview at ISNA

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