Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad enters presidential fray

Tehran: Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has jumped into the presidential contest by submitting his application for the country’s highest post.
His presence in the Interior Ministry for filing his application attracted a large number of photographers and journalists, reports Tasnim agency.
Ahmadinejad, who held office as president for two successive terms from 2005 to 2013, delivered a speech after registering as a candidate.
The registration process for the 14th round of Iran’s presidential election got underway at the Interior Ministry headquarters in Tehran on May 30 and will end on June 3.
Earlier, former speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Ali Larijani, also registered to run for the Iranian presidential elections which are due on June 28.
The elections were necessitated following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others in a chopper crash earlier this month.
Larijani, former head of the Shura Council and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, served as speaker from 2008 to 2020.
In addition to Larijani, the former head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, has emerged as another candidate in the upcoming elections. Holding key positions as the current representative of the Leader of the Revolution and the Republic in the council, Jalili is renowned for his steadfast stances on foreign policy, particularly regarding negotiations and relations with the West and the United States.
Around 80 individuals have put in requests for candidacy during the past four days, while less than 20, including a woman, have met the eligibility criteria to register.
All applicants are carefully vetted by the Constitutional Council, which will announce the list of final candidates on June 11.
The election campaign period is set for June 12-26, while the nationwide presidential election will be held on Friday, June 28.
The new administration, the 14th one after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, will assume power in late June or early July and hold office for four years.
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern mountainous forests on May 19, killing the president, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and six others.
According to the Constitution, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has taken the helm as the acting president at the discretion of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
UNI