DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad registered as a possible presidential candidate Sunday, seeking to regain the country’s top political position after a helicopter crash killed the president of the country.
The registration of the former populist leader puts pressure on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In power, Ahmadinejad openly defied the 85-year-old cleric, and his attempt to run in 2021 was banned by authorities.
The return of this politician who questions the Holocaust comes at a time of increased tensions between Iran and the West over the rapid evolution of Tehran’s nuclear program, the arming of Russia in its war against Ukraine and large-scale repression of dissent. Meanwhile, Iran’s support for mandated militias across the Middle East has become a priority as Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack ships in the Red Sea over Israel’s war with Hamas in the strip. from Gaza.
Ahmadinejad is the highest-profile candidate to register so far. Speaking after his registration, he pledged to seek “constructive engagement” with the world and improve economic relations with all nations.
“The economic, political, cultural and security problems go beyond the situation in 2013,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to the year he left the presidency after two terms.
After addressing journalists in front of around fifty microphones, Ahmadinejad declared, with his finger in the air: “Long live spring, long live Iran!” »
Before his arrival at the Iranian Interior Ministry, his supporters chanted and waved Iranian flags. They quickly surrounded Ahmadinejad, 67, shouting: “God is greatest!” »
He walked down the stairs of the ministry, showing his passport as is customary to the dozens of photographers and video journalists present for the recording process. As a woman processed his application, he sat down, turned to reporters, nodding and smiling for the cameras. He was to make remarks after completing his registration.
Elections are scheduled for June 28 to replace intransigent President Khamenei. Ebrahim Raïssidied in a helicopter crash in May with seven others.
Former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a conservative with close ties to relatively moderate former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has already signed up, as has former Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati, who signed up. also presented in 2021.
It remains unclear who else will seek to run. The country’s interim president, Mohammad Mokhber, previously a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, could be the favorite as he has already been seen meeting Khamenei. Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami is also being mooted as a possible candidate, but, as with Ahmadinejad, whether he would be allowed to run is another question.
The five-day registration period will end on Tuesday and the Guardian Council is expected to release its final list of candidates within 10 days. This will shorten the campaign by two weeks before the vote at the end of June.
Ahmadinejad previously served two four-year terms, from 2005 to 2013. Under Iranian law, he became eligible to run again after four years out of power, but he remains a polarizing figure even among his fellow hardliners. His disputed re-election in 2009 sparked massive “Green Movement” protests and a widespread crackdown in which thousands were arrested and dozens killed.
Abroad, he has become a caricature of Western perceptions of the Islamic Republic’s worst attribute, questioning the Holocaust, insisting that Iran has no gay or lesbian citizens and implying that the Iran could build a nuclear weapon if it wanted.
But Ahmadinejad remains popular among the poor for his populist efforts and housing construction programs. Since leaving office, he has become known through social media and written widely publicized letters to world leaders. He has also criticized government corruption, even though his own administration has been the subject of corruption allegations and two of his former vice presidents have been imprisoned.
Khamenei warned Ahmadinejad in 2017 that his new candidacy would create a “polarized situation” that would be “harmful to the country.” Khamenei said nothing during Ahmadinejad’s 2021 bid, when his candidacy was rejected by the 12-member Guardian Council, a panel of clerics and jurists ultimately overseen by Khamenei. This panel has never accepted a woman or anyone calling for a radical change in the governance of the country.
This panel could reject Ahmadinejad again. However, the race to replace Raisi has yet to attract a candidate with Khamenei’s clear and overwhelming support.
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Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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