Reuters :
Iranians choose a president on Friday in a tightly controlled election following Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month, with the outcome expected to influence the succession of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top decision-maker.
With Iran’s supreme leader now age 85, it is likely that the next president will be closely involved in the eventual process of choosing a successor to Khamenei, who has ensured candidates sharing his hard-line views dominate the presidential contest. The election coincides with escalating regional tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, increased Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, and growing domestic dissent over political, social, and economic crises.
However, the looming succession of the fiercely anti-Western Khamenei is the overriding concern among Iran’s clerical elite. The Guardian Council, a hard-line vetting body of clerics and jurists aligned to Khamenei, has approved five hard-line candidates and one low-profile moderate one from an initial pool of 80.
Prominent among the hard-liners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the parliament speaker and a former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guard, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator.
The sole moderate candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, has the endorsement of Iran’s politically sidelined reformist camp.
Khamenei has not backed any candidate publicly. However, his adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi has urged voters to elect “a president whose views do not conflict with those of the supreme leader,” state media reported.
Iran’s six presidential candidates are (from top left) Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Alireza Zakani, (from top right) Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian. Among the six, Pezeshkian is the sole moderate candidate.
“The people should choose a president who considers himself the second in command … The president should not create division,” said Safavi, a former chief commander of the Guard.
While the president’s role has a high international profile, real power rests with the supreme leader, who has the final say on state matters such as foreign or nuclear policies, and controls all branches of government, the military, media and the bulk of financial resources.
Raisi was widely seen as a potential successor to Khamenei, and his sudden death has sparked a race among hard-liners seeking to influence the selection of Iran’s next top leader.