Conservative candidate Ezzatollah Zarghami has vowed to be an anti-corruption president, telling an interviewer “I will deal with the mafia and those whose interests are in the continuation of the status quo, as well as oligarchic gangs and the “thousand” families”. On the issue of how he will behave in electoral debates, Zarghami added: “I have no red line in the elections except the interests of the country and the people.”
Principalist candidate Mostafa Zaribafan has stood aside in favour of Ebrahim Raisi, saying that after consulting with “experts” he has decided to clear the way for the “visionary” Raisi. Zaribafan is the first of what will likely be many Principalist candidates who will stand aside for Raisi.
In an interview with ISNA, Principalist candidate Ezzatollah Zarghami stated that he would not step aside for a consensus candidate. When asked specifically if he would step aside for Ebrahim Raisi, he answered by speaking in the third person: “Zarghami has come to stay [the distance], and the others must adapt to Zarghami”.
Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the Majles and a high-profile Principalist, said during a public meeting about Israel’s attacks on the Palestinians, that candidates in this election should be “careful in observing religious and moral standards, and refrain from destroying each other or making unfair claims against rivals”. Qalibaf added that this election was “an opportunity to build a strong Iran” which some have interpreted as being an endorsement of Ebrahim Raisi, whose campaign slogan is “a people’s government for a strong Iran”. Qalibaf was expected to nominate for the Presidency this year, but did not, as it is rumoured he told his faction he would not run if Ebrahim Raisi nominated.
Hossein Marashi, spokesman for the Agents of Construction Party, said today: “there is no ground for cooperation between Ali Larijani and the Reformists”. Marashi added that even if the Principalist Unity Council does not include Larijani among their list of candidates, Larijani and the Reformists are unlikely to work together since they do not have a history of cooperating, unlike Rouhani and the Reformists.
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.
Senior cleric Gholam-Reza Mesbahi-Moghaddam, a member of both the Expediency Council and Assembly of Experts, said that the delay in Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi on announcing his candidacy is due to him waiting for formal approval from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi is the clear favourite to win the election, and is rumoured to be likely to announce his candidacy on Eid al-Fitr, the official end of Ramadan, which takes place this coming Thursday, in the middle of the nominations period.
Manouchehr Mottaki of the Unity Council, a major organisation of the Principalist movement, has said his organisation will definitely not select Ali Larijani as a candidate for this election. Mottaki was responding to rumours, and said with all respect to Larijani, “we in the Unity Council have reached the conclusion that [Ebrahim] Raisi is the right candidate, and we hope that he will make an announcement soon”.
A post on Instagram by Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, has led to speculation that he has implicitly declared his candidacy. In the post, Qalibaf promotes a visit he made to the opening of a wrestling centre, and spoke of values of courage and heroicness. At the end of the post he invokes the help of Ali, the First Imam of Shi’ism, both in his closing comment and hashtags. It is this invocation which commentators are interpreting as indicating he will run for president.
Manouchehr Mottaki, who heads the Unity Council, a powerful Principalist umbrella group, said that there was a consensus in the organisation in supporting Ebrahim Raisi. Mottaki acknowledged that Raisi has not yet nominated, and may not, in which case the Unity Council will make a decision from the other pool of candidates. However, Mottaki added that “if we apply the model of 2013, our defeat is certain”, while the model of 2017 worked better. This is most likely a reference to the large field of Principalist candidates in the 2013 election splitting the conservative vote.