Tehran Mayor Withdraws from Presidential Race to Support Other Conservative

Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, each leading Iran’s government for two 4-year terms between 1997 and 2021, have come out in support of Masoud Pezeshkian –who has served as Khatami’s Minister for Health.

The two former presidents encouraged Iranians to turn up at the polling stations Friday and use their vote to keep out the hardliners from the executive. Their message stood in stark contrast to that of leading opposition figures who asked people to stay away from the ballot boxes and not recognize the “show” election.

“The most peaceful way to show your opposition to this blatant oppression, and to send the message of “No to the Islamic Republic”, is to boycott the upcoming farce of an election,” said well-known activist and former prisoner Hossein Ronaghi in a video message Wednesday.

Joining Ronaghi’s call from prison was Faezeh Hashemi, former lawmaker and the daughter of another former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Before her, other voices from inside Iranian prisons had called for a boycott of the election, most notably, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate activist, Narges Mohammadi –who called the election “staged”.

The upcoming presidential election in Iran features five hand-picked insider politicians, after one hardliner, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, quit the race in support of three other hardliners. The hardline camp are worried that their vote would be divided, allowing the only ‘moderate’, Pezeshkain, to move ahead at the vote.

Existing polls show that at least half the eligible voters may shun the election on Friday. This will be Iran’s first presidential election after the widespread uprising in 2022, in which at least 500 were killed and thousands arrested. Many of those who took to the streets across Iran and bore the brunt of the state’s brutality, have once more turned against the system with their call to boycott the election.

In a joint statement Wednesday, several mothers of slain protesters and dissidents called the upcoming election a "circus" that Iranians have to ignore, focusing instead on other ways to pressure the system to change.

"We will not stop seeking justice until we get our right to try and punish the criminals who innocently executed and shot our children,” they said.

Several student organizations and women's right groups also encouraged Iranians not to vote Friday. Over the weekend, over 500 teachers, union activists, and prominent cultural figures in Iran similarly issued a joint statement publicly declaring their decision to abstain from participating in the upcoming presidential elections.

Under the banner of "The National Network Woman, Life, Freedom Revolution," the groups issued a collective statement, endorsing organized protests targeting the electoral process.

Their initiative included “meeting with families of political prisoners, conducting nighttime chants with slogans in Iran" and advocating for the staging of demonstrations outside of Iranian embassies abroad.

Their objective, they say, is to sustain the movement that was triggered in September 2022 following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini while in the custody of the so-called morality police. The state's subsequent killing of at least 550 protesters during its crackdown has been labeled a crime against humanity by a UN fact-finding mission.

Simultaneously, Iranian Kurdish families, who have lost loved ones as a result of Tehran's suppression of dissent, have also voiced support for the election boycott, denouncing it as a "circus."

“As justice-seeking mothers from Kurdistan, we will persist in our quest for justice until we secure the right to prosecute and punish those who unjustly executed and shot our children. We unequivocally denounce the Iranian regime and reject any participation in what are deemed as mere staged elections,” the families who have lost loved ones during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests said in a statement published on social media.

The upcoming presidential ballot features five hand-picked insider politicians. Experts have often noted that the office of the president holds limited influence over many institutions and critical decisions, which are predominantly shaped by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Over the weekend, over 500 teachers, union activists, and prominent cultural figures in Iran similarly issued a joint statement publicly declaring their decision to abstain from participating in the upcoming presidential elections.

In their statement, the signatories emphasized, "Engaging in the electoral process, even under the assumption of a victory by a reformist candidate, is futile and does not offer solutions to ongoing issues. Moreover, it risks legitimizing the government and escalating suppression of dissent and protest. Therefore, we announce our refusal to participate in the presidential elections."

Influential figures have also voiced dissent against Iran's upcoming June 28 snap presidential election. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has criticized the election, calling it a facade orchestrated by an oppressive regime.

Several civil and political activists and unions had already united in support of the boycott.

Sepideh Rashno, a writer and civil activist advocating against mandatory hijab, expressed on her Instagram: "There is no future for Iran and its people under the Islamic Republic. The will and resilience of the people has always driven change."

Goljahan Ashrafpour, mother of Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist who died in prison in 2006, conveyed a message from the hospital urging citizens not to participate in the upcoming elections.

She emphasized that the president “lacked authority” and encouraged people to "stay at home on election day" to avoid endorsing what she referred to as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's manipulation of the elections.

Atash Shakrami, the aunt of Nika Shakrami, a 16-year-old killed by Iranian security forces during the 2022 nationwide protests, used her Instagram platform to condemn the government and the electoral process. She asserted, "Every government agent's hands are deeply stained with the blood of our nation's youth."

In a series of posts on his X account, Ghazizadeh Hashemi said his decision aims to "consolidate the conservative faction and strengthen their collective chances in the upcoming election."

He threw his support behind his fellow hardline candidates Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Saeed Jalili, and Alireza Zakani, and called for unity among them in the battle against 'pro-reform' candidate Masoud Pezeshkian.

Hashemi emphasized the importance of unity among the "pro-revolution forces", highlighting his commitment to the cause. "I am withdrawing from the race in order to maintain the cohesion of the revolutionary forces and in response to the written request of the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Forces’ Consensus and some scholars and patriots."

"I hope my three brothers will also unite in the remaining time to strengthen the revolutionary front," he added.

Reflecting on his decision to enter the race, Hashemi said he "intended to defend Ebrahim Raisi's legacy by running in the election."

"I felt that if a representative from the thirteenth government was not among the candidates, the rights of our martyr would not be fulfilled," he added.

Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi is a physician by training. A former member of parliament, he served as a member of its presidium and first deputy speaker. He ran for the presidency in 2021 but lost.

Raisi later named him as a vice president and head of the Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Foundation. This Iranian parastatal foundation is under sanctions for directing financial resources to terrorist organizations, particularly Hezbollah.

In a joint statement Wednesday, they said that Iran's government has caused immense suffering through executions and violence. Yet, ahead of elections, candidates implicated in these crimes talk of freedom and improvement

They added, "We will not stop seeking justice until we get our right to try and punish the criminals who innocently executed and shot our children."

Gohar Eshghi, mother of blogger Sattar Beheshti who was killed under torture in an Iranian prison, separately urged the public to boycott the elections in a video message shared on her Instagram.

""Boycott this government charade! Let the liars and their reformist/hardliner pawns play alone. The world will again hear our answer: NO to the Islamic Republic!” she wrote in the post’s caption.

Azamat Azhdari, whose sister Ghanimat Azhdari was killed on Ukrainian Flight PS752 shot down in 2020 by Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), also released a video. Azhdari said that there is an "ocean of blood" between the voters and people like her.

Similar statements have been shared recently by other family members of slain Iranian protesters of the 2022 uprising in Iran.

Many Iranian activists, student groups, cultural figures, and prominent current and former political prisoners in Iran have called for a boycott of the upcoming elections.

During Iran’s 2022 protests, at least 500 protestors were killed by state security forces, and tens of thousands were arrested.

Iran's 2024 snap presidential elections were announced following the sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.

They have accused Masoud Pezeshkian of not being a reformist, but trying to win the election in order to form a government that would be a continuation of pragmatist former President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.

Pezeshkian did not respond to the repeated accusations during the last two debates on Monday and Tuesday. Instead, he reiterated his obedience to Supreme Leader Khamenei and his commitment to implementing Khamenei's master plan for the country. He likely aimed to demonstrate his loyalty to Khamenei in an attempt to appease hardliners. However, this stance did little to impress reform-minded Iranians who were considering voting for him.

On Tuesday, three players other than the candidates made news by what they said. First it was Khamenei who delivered a speech that was aired live. He cautioned voters to vote for a candidate who is loyal to the regime and is determined to carry out “positive executive work.”

While some observers said he was alluding to Pezeshkian who has pledged allegiance to Khamenei during the debates and has a background in executive affairs as a former Health Minister, others opined that Khamenei was telling the voters to choose Saeed Jalili, who happens not to have played any part in the executive branch . Some netizens pointed out that the color of the stone on the gem in Khamenei's ring during his speech was the same as Pezeshkian campaign's chosen color.

On the ground and apart from the online world of armchair political analysts, videos that went viral on social media showed that in some cities including Qazvin there were posters on the walls that showed another candidate, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf next to Khamenei's son Mojtaba. Netizens interpreted that as part of the plan to groom Ghalibaf as the next president.

Another non-candidate player who came under media spotlight, was former Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh who was accused several times by some of the candidates including Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani of financial corruption by signing the wrong harmful oil contracts with entities in the United Arab Emirates.

Videos of Zanganeh went viral on the Persian social media on Tuesday rejecting the accusations and calling on the state television and the candidates involved to take part in live televised debates with him.

Meanwhile, a quarrel broke out between Jalili and Pourmohammadi over the same issue as Jalili accused Pourmohammadi of concealing the evidence in the case when he was the chief inspector. Pourmohammadi also said that he was ready to discuss this with Jalili on live television.

The third player whose words became more important than what the candidates said was former President Hassan Rouhani who protested for the third time that some candidates have levelled accusations on him and his government that he needs to be given an opportunity to respond and make the matter clear for the nation based on the country's election law.

Rouhani said in an interview posted on social media that hardline candidates spoke in a way as if the Raisi administration (2021-2024) never existed and blamed him and his government for the shortcomings and wrongdoings that took place under Raisi's presidency. The state TV was not observed to react to Rouhani's statement although he also sent a complaint in writing to the state television.

Still, the strangest comment was made by Khamenei who spoke in a way as if he was not sure the Guardian Council had made the right decision with handpicking the six candidates. He warned the voters that some of the candidates might serve the interests of the United States, repeating his decades-long argument that “the enemies” were plotting against the Islamic Republic.