“Today, 25% of our population lives in villages, and as far as I know, every village can be a “cell” of progress for the development of the country. If we solve the problems of 40,000 villages in the country, we will see that each village can be the leap cell of the country, and this problem will be solved through planning and management,” he stated.

Jalili went on to say that those in charge should not allow an individual or a group to gain money from the pockets of the people.

“This issue requires serious determination and will, and one must first start from the faction of friends and insiders in order to stand against it,” he remarked.

Pointing to the rising inflation rate in the country, the presidential candidate said that the average inflation in many countries is below 5%, “but our country has experienced 50% inflation. Solving this problem requires will and planning; it should be noted who will benefit from this inflation and why only a certain and limited number of people have benefited from heavy banking facilities.”

Regarding nuclear negotiations, Jalili said that if Iran is going to negotiate with the West, it must have tools to use as bargaining chip.

“We must not behave in such a way that the pressure lever is in the hands of the enemy and we are in a difficult situation. One way to lift sanctions is to negotiate, but that is not all we can do,” opined Jalili who was Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator during the rule of the previous administration.

Presenting an alternative to the current nuclear negotiations in Vienna, Jalili said Iran must enter into negotiations with tools of pressure “so that the enemy cannot use the levers of pressure against us. For example, if it wants to boycott us with petrol, there are several things that can be done. One way is to negotiate and make concessions to dissuade the enemy. The second way is to circumvent the sanctions and the enemy does not understand, but the best and most useful way is to produce petrol and even export it so that the lever of pressure is removed from the hands of the enemy.”

Jalili reminded the voters that his programs are not written overnight because he formed a shadow cabinet after losing the 2013 presidential election to the incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani.

“In 2013, after the election of president Rouhani, I said in my election campaign that our work started today and we formed a shadow cabinet and followed the developments bit by bit. If good work is done, even from competitors, we should approve and encourage it; if help is needed in a time, we should enter and help; and if something goes wrong, we should come and correct it,” he suggested.

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“The council has examined records of 40 people, out of 592 registrants,” Rahpeyk said.

Rahpeyk added that there is no time left for presidential hopefuls to protest, and the list released on Tuesday is final.

“Just because a first-degree relative resides in another country does not necessarily preclude assessing qualification, but among other things, it may have led to a disqualification,” he noted.

There are reports that Ali Larijani was disqualified because his daughter is studying in Ohio.

The Guardian Council official stated that discussion of management and indicators, such as several years of service in national managerial positions, is part of the qualification requirements.

“Two people may be in the same position; one may be qualified and the other may be disqualified. They may have achieved conditions for successful management, but there are other conditions. The one who is not qualified has not met other criteria,” Rahpeyk stated.

Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, a cleric presidential candidate endorsed by the Guardian Council, said on Tuesday that he had made some calls to make the “election scene more competitive.”

The presidential elections will be held on June 18.

Election hype has begun as candidates officially started campaigning on Tuesday, after the names of competent hopefuls were announced.

GC Approves Seven Candidates to Run in Presidential Elections. The Guardian Council approved seven hopefuls to run in next month’s presidential poll, with judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi among the mainly ultraconservative candidates, while heavyweights Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Larijani were barred.

The much-awaited list, which was released on Tuesday, includes Saeed Jalili, Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, Mohsen Rezaei, Alireza Zakani, Seyyed Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, Albdolnasser Hemmati, Mohsen Mehralizadeh.

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He declared that campaigns may not be held in closed door places. He also asked the Ministry of Sports to help the candidates in providing open fields in various provinces and cities.

Raeisi said in “red zones” election offices of each candidate should not house more than 15 persons.

The number differs in “orange zones” and “yellow zones,” with the orange zone permitted to house 20 people, and yellow zones permitted to house 30 people in closed door offices, Raeisi explained.

He also said the Ministry of Health has classified districts based on the rate of coronavirus infections with red color indicating “high risk”, orange “medium”, yellow “low risk” and blue the “least risk”.

Raeisi also said in line with observation of health protocols election rallies and carnivals are strictly forbidden.

He advised the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) to take effective measures to discourage election rallies through airing campaign programs.

Raeisi added that the number of polling stations have increased to avoid population density.

“Preventive measures have been taken, such as observing distance in the lines to make voting safe,” he said.

He advised voters to stay outdoors until it is their turn to cast ballots.

The presidential elections will be held on June 18.

The candidates may officially begin their election campaign on May 28, a day after the Guardian Council releases the names of qualified candidates.

According to the Tehran Election Headquarters, holding rallies in Tehran province is prohibited, as the number of COVID-19 cases has surged in the capital in the past days.
The campaigns are expected to be held virtually and through social media in tandem with health protocols.

Simultaneously, council elections will be held on June 18.

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The research conducted by ISPA had two parts. In the first part, the institute published the response to the question: “Who are you voting for?” And in the second part, it put Raeisi against different candidates, such as Ali Larijani, Es’haq Jahangiri, and Masoud Pezeshkian.

The first part of the research showed that Reaisi is ahead in the polls by a wide margin.

According to the study, Raeisi has 36.7% of the votes, with Larijani behind him with 3.5%.

Others are ranked as follows: Mohsen Rezaei 2.8%, Masoud Pezeshkian 2.1%, Es’haq Jahangiri 1.6% and Saeed Jalili 0.9%.

In the second part of the poll, Raeisi is put against Larijani, and the results are as follows:

Raeisi: 55.3%

Larijani: 7.9%

Neither: 14.3%

No response: 22.5%

Fars predicts Raeisi leads Ahmadinejad as runner up

Also, according to a report published by the Fars News Agency on Thursday, Raeisi enjoys 32.6% of the votes, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad behind him with 26.7% of the votes.

The report states that 42% of the people eligible to vote will participate in the elections.

It also says that 21% of the eligible voters will not participate due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It also asked participants who will they vote for if Ahmadinejad withdraws candidacy or is disqualified by the Guardian Council in which 10% said they will vote for Raeisi, 1.5% for Rezaei, 1.3% for Larijani, and 3.3% were undecided.

According to the report, Saeed Mohammad has 3.6% of the votes.

The report also says that 32% of eligible voters will not participate due to economic hardship.

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“Insulting, accusing, spreading lies, lying, as well as insulting others are examples of election violations,” he remarked.

Hashemi advised the candidates not to say baseless things in a live broadcast.

“The commission has special legal powers, and powers that can exercise the rights of candidates and individuals through various arrangements,” he explained.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Hashemi made it clear that there will be debates, but it highly depends on the number of qualified candidates.

“As of now, there hasn’t been any news about qualified and disqualified candidates,” he noted.

Each candidate will be given time to explain about his plans on the TV, he added.

Hashemi noted that the schedule has not been drafted yet, saying it will depend on the number of qualified candidates.

The presidential elections will be held on June 18.

The candidates may officially begin their election campaign on May 28, a day after the Guardian Council releases the names of qualified candidates.

According to the Tehran Election Headquarters, holding rallies in Tehran province is prohibited, as the number of COVID-19 cases has surged in the capital in the past days.
The campaigns are expected to be held virtually and through social media in tandem with health protocols.

Simultaneously, council elections will be held on June 18.

The post Examples of election violation revealed appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Attending the weekly cabinet meeting, Hassan Rouhani stated: “In a country where all resources were cut off and the budget has always relied on oil and now oil is in trouble, the government replaced the oil with non-oil exports, and it was not easy.”

He noted that the main oil exports that had helped Iran have been products, petrochemicals, and steel in recent years.

“Of course, we have other cases, but these are the three main ones, and it carried a heavy burden to replace oil,” he added.

He pointed out that despite dire COVID conditions in the country, non-oil exports were almost in line with imports and said non-oil exports were $ 40 billion and imports were $ 42 billion.

He stressed that those who imposed sanctions on Iran didn’t even imagine that Iran would export gasoline to the region.

“If one day we exported oil, today we also export gas, products, and electricity, and a great change has taken place, and all those who were active in our mining industry during these 4 years have borne a heavy burden,” he added.

He also gave an assurance to the people and critics that the Vienna talks will result in Iran’s victory.

President Rouhani noted the lifting of sanctions will improve people’s lives.

He also lashed out at those who claim to be concerned about people’s living situation, but at the same time express dissatisfaction with the Vienna talks aimed at getting US sanctions to be lifted

“We cannot say we care about people, and at the same time express grief when attempts are being made to remove sanctions,” said the president.

“Expressing concern about people’s lives and expressing grief about the lifting of sanctions are mutually exclusive,” he added.

“The removal of sanctions is good. If you really do care about people, then why you are sad over efforts to lift the sanctions?” the president asked rhetorically.

President Rouhani said all negotiations that Iran has held during the eight-year tenure of his administration have been fruitful.

He said the Vienna talks will end in final victory for Iran.

The post World’s Eyes on Iran’s Presidential Election appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Dozens of names have emerged as potential contenders over the past weeks. It is, however, a bit early to tell whose names will ultimately appear on the list of candidates since it is not a given that everyone who intends to run will actually be able to. Hopefuls must first pass vetting by the Constitutional Council, the body that assesses credentials to decide who is qualified to stand for high office based on strict nomination criteria.

This time around, new faces are expected to enter the fray along with familiar ones, but the two main rival political camps in the country — namely the right-wing Principlists and the left-wing Reformists — appear to be still undecided and have yet to unite behind single figures.

Meanwhile, the Reformists and the left-leaning Moderates especially need to set their house in order ahead of the crucial vote following setbacks they suffered in the 2020 parliamentary elections, in which the Principlists won an absolute majority of the seats at the legislature.

One special thing about the June 18 election is that more figures with military backgrounds are said to be eyeing the presidency than previous elections.

Late last year, a group of parliamentarians, concerned about the prospect of military men finding their way to a normally civilian office, put forward a proposal to ban people of military backgrounds from running in presidential elections.

That proposal was, however, overwhelmingly rejected at the Parliament, with the opponents pointing to the fact that, if they resign from their military posts, members of the Armed Forces will be considered civilians and will thus be entitled to run for civilian office.

Here is a sketchy outlook of nine of the most prominent figures that have either formally declared their presidential bid or are highly expected to do so. The names appear in a random order.

A scientist president? Ex-nuclear chief Fereydoun Abbasi

Fereydon Abbasi, a former nuclear chief who now heads the Energy Committee of the Parliament, has officially announced his presidential bid with the campaign slogan of “administration of the elite, a return to people.”

He was the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 2010 to 2013 under the administration of ex-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Abbasi has dismissed affiliation with any political party, but many see him as leaning toward the right.

The prominent nuclear physicist survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2010. On November 29 that year, assailants riding motorcycles carried out two separate bomb attacks targeting the cars of Abbasi and his colleague Majid Shahriari, also a senior physics scientist. Abbasi narrowly escaped the attack with injuries, but Shahriari lost his life.

Diplomat becoming chief? Mohammad Javad Zarif

Although he has repeatedly dismissed speculation about presidential aspirations, Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister under incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, would possibly be the primary candidate of the Reformists if he changes his mind and takes part.

A career diplomat and academic, US-educated Zarif has spent many years representing Iran in the international community. Formerly, he was Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, from 2002 to 2007.

Zarif is known as the architect of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and originally six major world countries inked in 2015. That agreement has, however, been in crisis due to the US’s unilateral withdrawal in May 2018.

First military man to announce bid: Hossein Dehqan

Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, who has served in top military and political positions, was the first to throw his hat in the ring for the upcoming presidential vote.

He is a former defense minister under President Rouhani and senior commander with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). The general currently serves as an advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on military affairs.

He maintains he is not affiliated with any political group.

In an interview with ISNA, Dehqan defended the participation of figures with military backgrounds in elections, saying presidents should be elected based on “merits” and how they fit the aspirations of the Iranian society.

The convenient choice of the Principlists: Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi

These days, the name of high-profile Principlist figure Ebrahim Raeisi is being increasingly mentioned in different political circles and media outlets as a potential competitor in the forthcoming presidential race.

Currently heading one branch of the Iranian government, namely the Judiciary, Raeisi is highly speculated to run for another top office. If he does, he will arguably be the Principlists’ foremost candidate.

He served as attorney general from 2014 to 2016, and was deputy Judiciary chief from 2004 to 2014. He was also prosecutor and deputy prosecutor of Tehran in the 1980s and 90s.

Raeisi became a household name in Iran in 2017 when he ran as a Principlist candidate in the presidential election. He lost the vote to Rouhani.

As the Judiciary chief, Raeisi has launched a widespread anti-corruption campaign. He drew up laws to protect women against domestic violence.

A rising star of the Reformists? Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani

A relatively senior Reformist figure, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani currently serves as member and chairman of the City Council of Tehran. He was chairman and CEO of Tehran Metro for 13 years.

Hashemi is the eldest son of the late Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the fourth and fifth president of Iran who later became the chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council.

Like Zarif, Hashemi has said he has no plans to join the race, and it remains to be seen if he will change his mind.

Silent and ‘undecided:’ Ali Larijani

Ali Larijani served as the speaker of the Iranian Parliament from 2008 to 2020. He was the secretary-general of the Supreme National Security Council from 2005 to 2007.

At the Council, he worked as the top negotiator on issues of national security, including Iran’s nuclear program.

Larijani has been silent about running, but those close to him say he is “thinking about” it and “considering the options” but has not decided yet.

He is affiliated with neither the Reformist nor the Principlist camp. He has been formerly associated with the right, but is sometimes described as a favored choice of the Reformists, too.

The young general: Saeed Mohammad

Saeed Mohammad is a former commander of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.

The 54-year-old has made his presidential bid official. The circumstances of his departure from his IRGC post attracted media attention. While he said he resigned to run for president, one IRGC commander said he had been removed for expressing political aspirations while still in the military. Still later, a spokesman for the IRGC denied that Mohammad had been removed.

Mohammad has described himself as an independent hopeful.

A former nuclear negotiator: Saeed Jalili

Another potential hopeful is Saeed Jalili, a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council who served as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.

Jalili previously ran for president in the 2013 election and came in third. He is a Principlist figure and a veteran of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

He has not declared his presidential bid yet. His associates have said he is waiting to see if Raeisi will run, under which scenario Jalili will not take part.

‘Candidate for all:’ Rostam Qassemi

Rostam Qassemi, a former minister of petroleum under Ahmadinejad, confirmed that he will be running during a presser earlier this week.

He formerly served as commander of the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters before becoming oil minister.

Qassemi professed no party affiliation while announcing his presidential bid and said he would run as “a candidate for all.” He is, however, generally seen as a Principlist figure.

The post Iran election 2021: Who’s running? Do we know yet? appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Under Article 113 of the Iranian Constitution, the President acts as the country’s chief executive and is responsible for implementing the law of the land “except in matters directly concerned with the office of the Leadership.”

Within the limits of his powers and duties, the President is responsible before “the people, the Leader, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly,” as the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) is formally called.

The President appoints ministers, subject to the approval of the Parliament.

The chief executive has the authority to sign agreements with other governments as well as those pertaining to international organizations, after securing parliamentary approval.

Ambassadors to other countries are also appointed upon the recommendation of the Foreign Minister and approval of the President, who also receives the credentials presented by the ambassadors of foreign countries.

The President is tasked with administering national planning, the budget, and state employment affairs.

In addition, he heads the Supreme National Security Council, which protects and supports national interests, the Islamic Revolution, and the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, the President serves as the chairman of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, a body set up after the 1979 Revolution to ensure the country’s education and culture remain Islamic and will not be influenced by other cultures and ideologies.

Who can run for president in Iran?

As stipulated in the Constitution, the President is elected for a four-year term by direct vote, and is allowed only two successive terms, although he can run for a third nonconsecutive term.

To run for president, a candidate must satisfy six key qualifications outlined in the Constitution, namely being an Iranian national and of Iranian origin, having “administrative capacity and resourcefulness” besides a good past record, trustworthiness and piety.  The President must also have faith in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islam, the official religion of the country.

The post The presidency and presidential elections in Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The campaignings ended at 8:00 am (0430 GMT Thursday) and any campaigning beyond this time is a violation of election regulations, Iranian Election Committee said in a statement on Wednesday, Press TV reported.

Iran’s parliamentary elections and the midterm elections for the Assembly of Experts – a body whose members designate the country’s Leader – are to be held simultaneously on February 21.

Campaigns officially started last Thursday and the candidates had one week to win the people’s support for their candidacy. Following the campaigning, there will be a 24-hour silence period until voting begins on Friday morning.

More than 7,000 candidates are competing to enter the parliament. A winning candidate must have at least 20 percent of the votes cast in their constituency in order to become lawmakers for a four-year term.

A total of 57,918,000 people are eligible to cast their ballots. There would be one lawmaker at Majlis per each 190,000-strong segment of the Iranian population.

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said Wednesday that a total of 55,000 polling stations and over 200 constituencies have been prepared across the country’s 31 provinces for the people to cast their votes.

He said that his ministry is fully prepared to hold the elections, which he described as “a manifestation of people’s participation in (determining) the country’s destiny.”

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of Iran’s Guardian Council (GC), which is in charge of supervising elections, called on observers of the votes to help executive committees hold “healthy and lawful elections” under close scrutiny and without interference in the voting process.

In a message addressed to the monitors of the elections, Ayatollah Jannati said all observers, regardless of their political or factional inclinations, had to apply the rule of law and avoid bias.

All observers are obliged to make sure that the candidates are financially healthy and therefore less prone to fraud, he added.

The post Iranian Candidates End Campaignings appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Majid Jafari Aqdam, the director of ‘POL Literary and Translation Agency, says the Agency “has tried to introduce more than 100 Iranian books including fictions, classic literature and those for children and adolescents, written by 14 authors in its special catalogues and brochures at the Beijing International Book Fair.”

He said that nearly 40 meetings were held with publishers and literary agencies from China and other countries.

These 100 titles were introduced during the meetings, among which books on classical works including Rumi’s tales, Mantiq-ut-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) and books for children and adolescents were much more welcomed than the others.

“In total, the Chinese and other foreign publishers expressed their interest in purchase of the copyright and translation of 23 Iranian books. We agreed that the titles requested by foreign publishers be submitted to the POL Agency in the application forms, in order to enable the agency to coordinate the copyright issues with the Iranian publishers, authors and foreign parties. Meanwhile, the POL Agency made a commitment to make the necessary arrangements for the Chinese publishers to obtain Iranian grants.”

Jafari Aqdam also pointed out that POL Literary and Translation Agency, in addition to introducing Iranian works with the aim of selling translation and copyrights to the Chinese publishers, also participated in some other events of the Beijing Book Fair including “Electronic Publishing and its Future”.

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