Zarif meets with Khatami and Khomeini

Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif reportedly had a meeting today with former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami and prominent politician and cleric Hassan Rouhani to discuss his potential candidacy. Zarif, who has been endorsed by the Reform Front, reportedly informed Khatami and Khomeini that he will not register for these elections. Recently, Zarif has been subject to controversy due to a scandal involving a leaked audio file, and yesterday was alleged to have also sworn upon the Qur’an that he did not intend to run.

Read more at Donya-e-Eqtesad

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Jahangiri Accepts Reformist Endorsement

First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri held a meeting today with the Reform Front to formally accept their endorsement for his campaign. Jahangiri, along with Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, are not Reformists and it was considered unlikely that they would accept the endorsement in the current environment. Neither Zarif nor Mohammad-Reza Aref, a veteran Reformist previously believed to have fallen out with his own faction, have accepted their endorsements, although FarsNews has reported that the Reform Front will continue to endorse these candidates through the registration and vetting process, if the two men choose to nominate.

Read more about Jahangiri’s meeting at IRNA
Read more about the decision on Zarif and Aref at FarsNews

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Aref, Jahangiri and Zarif have not Responded to Reformist Endorsement

Eleven of the 14 candidates endorsed by the Reform Front last week have presented their plans for the Presidency and met with the Front. However, so far, no plan has been presented by Mohammad-Reza Aref, and the two top choices, current First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and current Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif. The Reformist veteran Aref is known to have had a falling out with the leadership, particularly former President Mohammad Khatami. Jahangiri and Zarif are not part of the Reformist faction, and may not respond for this reason. 

Read more on Tasnim


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Marashi: Reformists Won’t Partner with Larijani

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. 

Read more at Tasnim


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Kurdish Sunni Leader Criticises Exploitation of Minorities by Candidates

Former Reformist Parliamentarian, academic and Sunni Kurdish activist Jalal Jalalizadeh criticised the use of minorities in endorsing candidates, citing the apparent petition by 500 prominent Sunni Iranians in support of Ebrahim Raisi. Jalalizadeh said that candidates seeking Sunni votes should be genuinely committed to ending discrimination against the minority sect and active in appointing minorities to senior roles. In his ten-point plan, Jalalizadeh said representation of Sunnis in key roles should be proportionate to their population (about 10%) and that Sunni governors should be appointed in Sunni majority provinces, such as Kurdistan and Baluchistan. 

Read more at Telegraph


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Akhundi: Election Atmosphere is Cold

Reformist candidate Abbas Akhundi stated in an opinion piece that the atmosphere surrounding this election is cold, and the government needs to shift its approach if it wants to attract the “silent majority”. Akhundi associated the limited number and general homogeneity of vetted candidates with public apathy to the election, arguing that “only through transformational discourse, by understanding the issues of Iran and empathising with the nation, will we find a way to break this freeze and create hope”. Akhundi was nominated as a candidate for the Reformist Front on Sunday, and named on a corruption indictment on the same day. 

Read more on Khabaronline


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Rahami to Reformist Front: Don’t Endorse Me

In protest of the Reformist Front’s method for selecting candidates, Mohsen Rahami demanded that the organisation not endorse his campaign. In denouncing factionalism, Rahami said that “I will inform the people of my vision for the presidency in the coming days, and I will leave the judgment to them” before stating that he would also provide more detail regarding why he is “adopting this policy” soon. 

Read more at IRNA

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Aref Criticises Disqualification of Reformists

Reformist candidate Mohammad-Reza Aref took to Instagram yesterday to criticise the widespread disqualification of Reformist candidates in local council elections, due to take place concurrently with the Presidential election. In comments that can easily be interpreted as relevant to the Presidential election, Aref said that disqualifying candidates simply because they do not adhere to a specific faction is “an oppression of citizens, expresses disregard for the citizenship rights of candidates and, in a word, is an obstacle.

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