Es’haq Jahangiri, former Vice President of Iran in Hassan Rouhani’s administration, officially registered to enter the race for the upcoming snap Presidential election scheduled for June 28.
Jahangiri, who served as the Minister of Industries and Mines from 1997 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, has been a contentious figure in Iranian politics, with critics often pointing to his roles during periods marked by economic stagnation.
As vice president and Rouhani’s economic point man, he tried to mitigate the impact of US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration in 2018, but both the Rouhani administration and its successor, the Raisi government, failed to resolve a six-year economic crisis that has plagued the country.
In response to a question of whether this is the third Rouhani government, he quipped: “I am Es’haq Jahangiri!”
In response to another question, “Who is your competitor in this election?” Jahangiri replied, “We all must strive to make the people of Iran the winners in this election.”
Jahangiri is considered a moderate in the Islamic political system of Iran, and ‘reformists’ may support him if his candidacy is approved by the Guardian Council. He has been a presidential candidate before and has proven to be an effective debater.
So far more than 40 former officials and politicians have registered as candidates. The conservative, 12-member Guardian Council will have one week to vet the candidates and officially approve a limited number of these individuals.
The Council, which is under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s control, has rejected hundreds of candidates in parliamentary and presidential elections over the years and specially since 2020. This policy has directly contributed to the dominance of conservatives and hardliners both in the parliament and in the government.
Before his ministerial role, Jahangiri was the governor of Isfahan Province and also served two terms in Parliament, where his tenure was not without criticism for his strong adherence to the policies of the ruling clerical elite.
