Iranian hopefuls weigh in for presidential showdown
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11/05/2021 - 16:24 Former defence minister and Revolutionary Guards General Hossein Dehqan is one of those who registered his candidacy on Tuesday ATTA KENARE AFP 4 min
Tehran (AFP)
Iranian hopefuls threw their hats into the ring Tuesday, launching the battle to succeed moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June 18 elections.
Iranian media have expected the poll to feature the most-ever candidates with military backgrounds, and many appeared on the first day.
Hopefuls have until Saturday to register and will then be vetted by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council before a list of approved candidates is published by May 27, after which campaigning begins.
Iranians’ message to hard-liners: ‘You break it, you own it’
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib
Iran s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. (Reuters)
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An audio recording of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was leaked last week to a Persian news channel in London. The highlight of the audio was his criticism of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), particularly the revered late commander Qassem Soleimani.
Some said the leak of the recording was aimed at sabotaging any hope Zarif might have of running for president, while others thought it might be to exonerate him for the failures of foreign policy. Regardless of who leaked it, the audio exposes the schizophrenia in the system and puts the hard-liners, who are likely to win June’s presidential election, under the so-called Pottery Barn rule i.e., “you break it, you own it,” meaning they will be responsible for the economic ailments of the country if diplomacy with the West fa
Iran's Revolutionary Guards reportedly raid offices of President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over Zarif's leaked audiotape.
THE STANDARD
ASIA
Afghan children celebrate in anticipation of the U.S-Taliban agreement to allow a U.S. troop reduction and a permanent ceasefire, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan February 28, 2020. Picture taken February 28, 2020. [Reuters]
India and Iran say Afghanistan would not go backwards regarding return of the Islamic Emirate used by Taliban in their five-year-long rule on Kabul, reports Afghanistan Times. We need to put our differences aside and focus on our commons including the reality that the Islamic Emirate is an existential threat against Pakistan and a national security threat for Iran and India, said Iran s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
April 27, 2021
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered an investigation April 27 into the leak of an audiotape containing containing confidential statements by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Government spokesman Ali Rabiee said Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has been assigned with identifying those behind the leak, which he said is being treated as a conspiracy against national security.
Iranian officials have said the audio was part of an oral history project meant to be archived at the presidential office as a confidential file.
Two days into the leak, the bombshell was still leaving behind ripple effects across Iran’s political and media circles. The hard-line camp appeared to have opened up a new front line against the veteran diplomat it has long accused of treason and subservience to the West.