The final list of vetted candidates has been sent by the Guardian Council to the Ministry of Interior, who will announce the list on the afternoon of Tuesday May 25. FarsNews published a list of seven candidates, supposedly leaked by a journalist who was shown the list: Ebrahim Raisi, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh, Saeed Jalili, Ali-Reza Zakani, Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Abdul-Naser Hemmati.
Hossein Dehghan announced in an open letter that he was standing aside and directing his support to Ebrahim Raisi.
IRGC candidate Rostam Ghasemi has sent a letter to the Guardian Council announcing he is standing down as a candidate. Unlike other candidates, Ghasemi did not stand aside in favour of Ebrahim Raisi.
Minister for Youth and Sports, Mohammad Abbasi, who also served in Ahmadinejad’s administration, today announced he was standing aside for Ebrahim Raisi. Abbasi’s announcement came directly after a meeting with Raisi.
Conservative candidate and Ahmadinejad-era cabinet member Mohammad-Hassan Nami announced that he was standing down as a candidate in favour of Ebrahim Raisi. Nami added that he was in no way pre-empting the Guardian Council’s decision on his nomination, but rather was keeping a promise he made before nominating, that he would stand aside if Raisi chose to run.
Conservative candidate Ali-Reza Afshar announced he was withdrawing from the election race. Afshar said in a statement that “Raisi is at the forefront of all polls, has top management credentials, is a model of humility, simplicity and democracy, and he promises to form an effective government to address the people's problems in all areas. I consider it my duty to accompany and assist him”.
As part of a strategy to grab and hold newspaper headlines, Ali Larijani had another day of blitzing the media and social media. Larijani gave an interview with Lebanese news channel Al-Mayadeen in which he stated that he decided to run in the elections because the candidates were all the same and Iranian voters deserved an actual choice. Larijani also spoke positively of Iran’s foreign policy engagement, particularly the new deal with China, and making progress in negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the United States. Later in the day, Larijani engaged Saeed Jalili in a Twitter argument in which Jalili accused Larijani of wanting drama and not to solve problems, while Larijani labelled Jalili an “aide to the election”, referring to rumours that he will stand aside for Ebrahim Raisi.
Read a summary of Larijani’s interview with Al-Madayeen at Eghtesad News
Read about Larijani and Jalili’s Twitter argument at Donya-e-Eqtesad
Conservative technocrat candidate, Fereydoun Abbasi, a nuclear scientist who was the target of an assassination attempt in 2010, made a number of telling remarks about the motivations of rival candidates in this election. Abbasi rhetorically asked why certain senior Principalists were always moving between senior roles rather than staying in one position and doing a better job in that one role. Abbasi was making reference to Raisi’s move from the head of the Imam Reza Foundation to the Chief Justice role to becoming a presidential candidate, all within the past five years. Abbasi added that Ahmadinejad has all the necessary qualifications and experience, so he wouldn’t see a problem if the Guardian Council approved his candidacy.
Six of the 592 candidates who nominated between May 11 and May 15, all of whom are high-profile are on United States or European Union sanctions lists. Frontrunner Ebrahim Raisi tops the list, alongside Fereydoun Abbasi, Hossein Dehghan, Abol-Hassan Firuzabadi, Rostam Ghasemi and Ezatollah Zarghami.
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.