Iran News Round Up
The Iran News Round Up ran from February 2009-September 2018. Visit the Iran File for the latest analysis.
Key takeaway: The exit of two prominent conservative candidates from Iran’s presidential race may create a more challenging election for moderate President Hassan Rouhani.
Former nuclear negotiator Said Jalili and former Parliamentarian Mehrdad Bazrpash both announced they will not run in the May 19 presidential elections. If the Guardian Council had allowed Jalili to run, he could have split the conservative vote in the elections. Jalili was affiliated with the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, the conservative coalition dedicated to producing a single conservative challenger to Rouhani. Jalili later rejected the Popular Front, and could have complicated the group’s efforts to unify. Bazrpash was a finalist to represent the Popular Front. His dropping out likely simplifies the group’s efforts to choose between the remaining four finalists.
Sitting First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri, meanwhile, downplayed the notion that his presidential run is threatening President Rouhani’s efforts at re-election. Jahangiri stressed that his run is “complementary” to Rouhani and noted that it is unlikely the Guardian Council will disqualify Rouhani. Jahangiri’s entry into the race does not mean that he intends to threaten Rouhani. Senior reformist politician Mohammad Reza Aref stated that Jahangiri’s entry into the race was designed to ensure conservatives do not besiege Rouhani during the election process.
This Iran News Round Up predominantly covers events from April 15-17.
Why is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running for president again?
Marie Donovan considers former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reasons for registering in the 2017 presidential elections in “Why is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running for president again?”
Citations & Links
Registration for presidential elections closes.
Registration for the May 19 presidential elections closed on April 15. Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, current First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri, Parliamentarian Hamid Reza Haji Babaei, and Mohammad Hashemi, a brother of the late Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, were among the candidates who entered in the final days of the registration period. (Fars News Agency) (E)
Jahangiri: My presidential run is “complementary” to Rouhani’s run.
First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri addressed his and President Hassan Rouhani’s presidential runs during remarks on April 15. Jahangiri dismissed claims that he is looking to unseat Rouhani, and insisted that his presidential run is “complementary to Rouhani.” Jahangiri stated that it is “unlikely Rouhani will be disqualified.” (Fars News Agency)
Jalili and Bazrpash drop out of the presidential race.
Former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili stressed that his dropping out of the race “does not mean that our work is finished, but rather that it must continue more seriously than in the past.” Jalili noted that he is not running “so that the revolutionary forces become more integrated and the discourse of the revolution is shaped properly… Certainly, one of the candidates is the fittest. Our task is to identify that person and help him…” Jalili ran and lost to President Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 elections. Mehrdad Bazrpash, one of the finalists to represent the conservative Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, stated that “the country needs to be changed; the status quo is not acceptable for anyone.” (Fars News Agency) (Tabnak)
Ghalibaf promises to create five million new jobs.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that he would create “five million jobs” and more than double the national income. Ghalibaf promised that he would change Iran’s tax system and “implement a comprehensive and detailed plan for solving the urgent problems of low-income people.” (IRNA)
Citations & Links
1.
Fars News Agency
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960126001413
Citations & Links
1.
Fars News Agency
http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13960126000093
Citations & Links
1.
Fars New Agency
http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13960127001636
2.
Tabnak
http://www.tabnakesfahan.ir/fa/news/408311/%D8%A8%D8%B0%D8%B1%D9%BE%D8%A7%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AD%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF
Citations & Links
1.
IRNA
http://www.irna.ir/fa/News/82493982/
Foreign Ministry: we hope presidential referendum will help with “peace, stability” of Turkey.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghassemi commented on the results of the Turkish referendum increasing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential powers. Ghassemi stated, “The discussion of the referendum in Turkey is a domestic discussion… and we will respect anything that the people of Turkey accept.” Ghassemi further stated, “we hope that this referendum will help peace, stability, security, and consensus-building in Turkey.” (ISNA)
Ahmadinejad: The U.S. can’t hurt Iran.
Hardline Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the recent U.S. airstrikes against Syria and Iran-U.S. relations during an interview with the Associated Press on April 15. Ahmadinejad stated that the airstrikes did not “have a message for Iran. Iran is a powerful country and people like” President Donald Trump or members of his administration “cannot hurt Iran.” Ahmadinejad stated that the Trump administration’s rhetoric regarding Iran was delivered for the purposes of political posturing, and claimed that President Trump would prefer to avoid war with Iran. (AP) (E)
Citations & Links
1.
ISNA
http://www.isna.ir/news/96012812216/%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D8%AD%D8%B6%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B8%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%81-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%AE%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%B4%DA%A9%D9%88%DA%A9-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%86-%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%AB%D9%87
Citations & Links
1.
