Iran International
Iran's top Sunni cleric, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, lamented the country's severe economic challenges, citing the failure of both "reformist" and conservative factions to manage government affairs effectively.
"Iranians are grappling with unprecedented challenges as their currency faces massive devaluation, ranking among the world's least valuable, despite the nation's abundant natural resources, such as gas and oil," said the top religious leader of Iran’s largely Sunni Baluch population during his Friday prayer sermons in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchestan.
The statement comes amid upcoming snap presidential elections, called following the sudden death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19. Mohammad Mokhber has since assumed the role of acting president.
The outspoken cleric emphasized the nation's desire for freedom and women's demand for equal rights, pointing to the failure of both "reformist" and conservative factions to fulfill these aspirations.
“Despite their promises, the previous administrations failed to deliver. Reformists also failed to bring about a meritocracy system,” he said. “We talked to the fundamentalists [conservatives] about national and regional problems, but they didn't show any real commitment to solving them.”
In his critique of past administrations, Abdolhamid highlighted their constrained authority, asserting that "affairs are overseen from elsewhere," likely referring to Supreme Leader Khamenei's ultimate control over decisions, and raised concerns regarding the state's transparency and accountability.
“The previous administration [under Hassan Rouhani] pledged to appoint 10 Sunni ambassadors, having received nominations from us for these positions. However, the Foreign Minister said that decision-making powers were not solely within their jurisdiction, and other institutions are involved in the decision-making,” Abdolhamid said.
Khamenei and his supporters have largely hesitated to acknowledge the economic strain on the country.
Pointing to the "weight of responsibilities" inherent in the role of president, the outspoken cleric questioned the candidates, asking if they have considered strategies to address the pressing issues facing the country, issues that have contributed to a rise in suicides.
Abdolhamid's views seem to align with many critics who consider the Iranian presidency to be more of a symbolic post. With significant decisions made at Khamenei's headquarters.
The incoming president, set to be elected by the end of June, faces the challenge of addressing escalating economic woes exacerbated by ongoing oil export and banking restrictions due to international sanctions. These sanctions primarily stem from Iran's advancing nuclear program and financial support for terrorist groups, like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Guardian Council's approved presidential candidates, to be announced next week, will each have an allocated time to air their promotional campaigns on state TV starting June 12 until June 26.
The presidential debates will also be broadcast live.
The IRIB’s election headquarters’ warning, issued alongside guidelines for candidate ads on Thursday, prohibited content that could “sow doubt,” “undermine the Islamic Republic's achievements,” or “erode public trust in the electoral process.”
The US and EU sanctioned IRIB in 2013, and 2022 for being a "critical tool of the Iranian government's mass suppression and censorship campaign against its people.”
An opinion survey by the Netherlands-based Gamaan Institute last year collected information from 38,445 people inside Iran about their views on media, revealing that only about 21 percent of the respondents followed the developments about Iran from IRIB.
Criticism of the current administration, particularly under Ebrahim Raisi, whose death last month triggered the snap election, will be closely scrutinized, with any perceived negative portrayal risking exclusion from national media coverage.
The directive came amid broader restrictions on media content ahead of elections, warning the candidates to refrain from defamation and actions detrimental to national unity and participation.
Iran's Press Supervisory Board also warned that violators would be punished with 74 lashes if found guilty.
According to instructions published on Wednesday, disseminating material that promotes "the boycott of elections and lower participation" and "organizing unauthorized protests, strikes, or sit-ins" constitutes a crime.
Iran's Minister of Intelligence also stated that his agency is closely monitoring the behavior of presidential candidates and their supporters, warning that those promoting "subversive" narratives will be prosecuted.
The warnings follow the Supreme Leader's address on Monday, in which he urged competitors to avoid slander and refrain from smearing each other.
These cautions are issued amid a backdrop where several candidates, among them Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, are linked to cases of corruption and human rights violations, where the electoral debates may provide an opportunity for candidates to expose each other.
Ghalibaf, the conservative parliament speaker and former mayor of Tehran, was embroiled in multiple financial scandals involving his immediate aides. Several of his associates, who were also former IRGC officers, were tried and convicted in cases involving approximately $5 billion.
The Iranian politician Pour Mohammadi, who served as interior minister and justice minister in two different administrations, was on the "Death Commission" responsible for the execution of thousands of Iranian political prisoners during the 1980s.
Despite many warnings, the usual protocol—where candidates launch their campaigns and engage in verbal sparring after receiving approval from the Guardian Council, a 12-member non-elected oversight body—has been disrupted, with confrontations starting prematurely this time.
A high-profile clash erupted between Ghalibaf and Vahid Haghanian, a prominent figure in the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran and a presidential candidate, drawing significant attention. Media affiliated with the IRGC criticized Haghanian and supported Ghalibaf.
The clearest reference that the IRGC has a ‘preferred’ candidate was made Wednesday by Vahid Haghanian, a former close aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in a statement published Wednesday.
Tasnim news website affiliated with the IRGC on Tuesday attacked Haghanian on for declaring his candidacy and said he lacked the required qualifications. It also alleged that Haghanian’s campaign was focused on the false claim that Khamenei’s office supported his candidacy.
Without directly naming Tasnim, Haghanian, who claims his decision to run was personal, has stated that the "desperate attempts" to discredit him stem from the IRGC-affiliated media's "fear" that their preferred candidate would be defeated.
Haghanian’s quarrel with Tasnim revealed that Ghalibaf is the candidate supported by the IRGC, the UK-based Iranian political analyst Shahir Shahidsaless maintained in a tweet on Wednesday.
“Therefore, it is conceivable that Ghalibaf broke his promise (that he would not run for president if he won the parliament’s speakership last month) and that his last-minute registration resulted from the IRGC’s insistence [on his candidacy],” he added.
In his statement, Haghanian pledged to "re-direct" the role of military-affiliated media outlets that benefit from its budget, preventing them from intervening in politics. He emphasized that the interference of the military in politics was prohibited by both the founder of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the law.
In recent months, the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency and Javan newspaper have repeatedly defended Ghalibaf against political rivals who have demanded answers to allegations of corruption against him and his family.
In a live TV program a few days after the Parliamentary elections of March 1, ultra-hardliner lawmaker Hamid Rasaei accused Tasnim and Javan newspaper of being at Ghalibaf’s service.
Tasnim’s promotion of Ghalibaf against the Paydari Party hardliners in the newly elected parliament was expressed by calling his win the vote for speakership “lawmakers’ No to Destruction”.
Ahead of the parliament’s presidium elections in April 2022, Javan had accused Ghalibaf’s opponents of “cowardly” attempt to destroy his reputation following a scandal that came to be known as Layette Gate.
Radical right-wingers’ attacks on Ghalibaf have intensified on social media since his last-minute announcement, only a few days after being voted as speaker of the new parliament, that he was running for presidency.
Ali-Akbar Raefipour, an ultra-hardliner who led one of the three major election coalitions within the Principlist camp during the March parliamentary elections in Tehran, is at the forefront of the attacks against Ghalibaf.
Without directly naming Raefipour but providing obvious clues for all to understand, an editorial Thursday, June 6, in the IRGC-linked Javan newspaper accused Raefipour and his supporters of “destruction with abuse and slander”.
“This group’s activities in the parliamentary elections of March were of the same nature. Instead of political vitality, they created division and gloom among hezbollahis (revolutionaries),” the editorial said. “It’s not clear why no one is taking action against them despite numerous violations and putrefying the election atmosphere,” Javan wrote.
Raefipour, who heads the Masaf Institute—a cultural entity with charity status—has been accused of misusing over half a million dollars of donors' money for payments to other organizations, which then funneled the funds back to him, his family members, and his allies.
Raefipour and his supporters, who recently formed the political group Jebhe-ye Sobh-e Iran (Iran Morning Front), call themselves "revolutionaries."
Ghalibaf’s popularity among conservatives has alarmingly declined. He came fourth in the parliamentary elections of March 1 in Tehran with 400,000 votes, one-third of his votes in 2020. He was behind three radical right-wingers including Amir-Hossein Sabeti, a young ultra-hardliner TV presenter with scarce political experience. .
Ghalibaf and his supporters are often referred to as ‘Neo-Principlists’. This refers to his call for reforms in the outlook and methods of Khamenei’s hardline supporters to set himself apart from others, and to build himself a support base among the younger generation of hardliners after his defeat in the presidential elections of 2017.