Iran Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf Enters Presidential Race

The conservative Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, officially entered the race for the snap presidential election scheduled for June 28. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi confirmed that a total of 80 applications were submitted by the end of the registration period on Monday evening. Now, candidates must await approval from the Guardian Council, a 12-member body dominated by conservatives, appointed or approved by the Supreme Leader, which vets all candidates for public office.

The election, originally set for 2025, was expedited following the sudden death of ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi on May 19 in a helicopter crash. Ghalibaf, a previous presidential candidate in 2005 and 2013, withdrew his candidacy in 2017 in favor of Raisi, who ultimately lost to Hassan Rouhani. Ghalibaf, emphasizing his commitment to addressing Iran’s economic challenges, vowed to continue his efforts if elected. A former commander of the air force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and former mayor of Tehran, Ghalibaf, 62, seeks to leverage his experience to improve Iran’s economy and social conditions.

Several other notable figures, including former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, have also registered their candidacies for the presidency.