DUBAI: US-sanctioned former Revolutionary Guards commander Vahid Haghanian was among candidates who registered on Saturday to run for election as Iran’s president after Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, state media reported.

Haghanian, a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters after registering that his qualifications were based on “experience from serving 45 years in the presidency and the leader’s office”. The US Treasury designated Haghanian in 2019 among nine individuals in Khamenei’s inner circle responsible for “advancing … domestic and foreign oppression”.

Iran says most US sanctions are prompted by baseless accusations. Former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a prominent conservative, was among candidates who registered on Friday, as was Abdolnaser Hemmati, a former central bank governor.

An election official told reporters on Saturday that 17 hopefuls had signed up since registration for the June 28 election opened on Thursday. The Guardian Council, a cleric-led body that vets candidates, will publish the list of qualified candidates on June 11.

In the latest challenge to a ban on women running for president, conservative former lawmaker Zohreh Elahian registered on Saturday, telling reporters her motto would be “A healthy government, a healthy economy and a healthy society”. The Guardian Council has ruled in earlier elections that Iran’s Islamic laws prevent a woman becoming president.

The death of Raisi has triggered a race among hardliners to influence the selection of Khamenei’s successor.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2024