Former nuclear negotiator makes fresh bid for Iran's presidency

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - On the first day of registration for Iran's presidential election, only five nominations were accepted by the country’s election headquarters, including that of a former nuclear negotiator.

The most high-profile candidate to register on Thursday was Saeed Jalili, a senior conservative politician who has previously served as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and as the lead nuclear negotiator in talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

He said his focus, if elected, would be on "service, honesty, efficiency, and justice."

Many of his supporters, including some lawmakers, had gathered outside the election headquarters in Tehran when he arrived to register his candidacy.

The snap presidential vote is scheduled for June 28 following the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.

The registration process will continue until June 3, after which the Guardian Council, the country's top vetting body, will review the qualifications of candidates.

The list of qualified candidates will be released on June 11, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told a press conference on Thursday.

Qualified candidates will have two weeks to campaign before the voting on June 28.

Speaking to the media after filing his nomination, Jalili said the country faces a “historic opportunity” that must not be neglected, making a strong case for his presidency.

“The next president should understand the great capital of the nation like the martyred president,” he said, paying respect to Raisi and his companions killed in the helicopter crash.

Jalili was a contestant in the 2021 presidential election but withdrew from the race in the later stages in favor of Raisi, who eventually won by a landslide.

In the 2013 presidential election, he finished in third place after eventual winner Hassan Rouhani and runner-up Bagher Ghalibaf.

According to the state-run news agency IRNA, 30 applicants visited the Interior Ministry on Thursday to file their nominations for the upcoming presidential vote, but their applications were rejected for not meeting the requirements.

The main requirements for presidential hopefuls include being between the ages of 40 and 75 and holding a master’s degree.

Other candidates whose applications were accepted are Mostapha Kavakebian, head of the Mardomsalari Party, and senior lawmakers Mohammad Sabbaghian, Ghadrat Ali Heshmatian, and Abbas Moqtadaei.

Sabbaghian, one of the first to file his nomination, said his main priority, if elected, would be to reform the country's political and economic structure.

Kavakebian, a former lawmaker and reformist political figure, announced that his slogan would be “democracy” and “honest dealing with people.”