Candidates
In Presidential elections in Iran, informal campaigning begins long before the official electoral period. Official nominations opened on May 11 and closed on May 15. The Guardian Council, responsible for vetting candidates against the criteria set in the Constitution, announced the approved candidates on May 26. Read more about the election process here.
Approved Candidates
Mohsen Mehr-Alizadah
Mehr-Alizadeh, 64, is a Reformist who has served in the Khatami administration as the Vice President and Head of Physical Education Organization. A native of Maragheh, Mehr-Alizadeh has a following among Iran’s large Azeri-speaking population.
Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi
Ghazizadeh, 50, is a hardline conservative politician who has served in the Majles since 2008. Ghazizadeh is expected to stand down in favour of Ebrahim Raisi.
Abdol-Naser Hemmati
Hemmati, 64, is the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran. An economist, he has served in several roles in the financial sector as well as in broadcasting. Hemmati is a close confident of President Hassan Rouhani.
Saeed Jalili
Jalili, 55, is a Principalist and war veteran who has served in several key senior government roles. He is a member of Expediency Council and the former Chief Nuclear Negotiator of Iran.
Ebrahim Raisi
Raisi, 60, is a senior cleric and current Head of Judiciary. He has served as the head of the powerful Imam Reza Shrine foundation and has been a vocal opponent of President Rouhani, losing to him in the 2017 election.
Mohsen Rezaei
Rezaei, 66, is a former Commander in Chief of IRGC and war veteran who has served in senior roles in government and military since the 1979 Revolution. Rezaei is a conservative from a Bakhtiari background and has nominated for the Presidency several times in the past.
Ali-Reza Zakani
Zakani, 56, is a former parliamentarian and senior Principalist. He is known for his hostility to the Reformists, and is likely to stand aside for Ebrahim Raisi.
Disqualified Candidates
Fereydun Abbasi
Abbasi, 62, is senior nuclear scientist and former head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation and has served in the Legislative Assembly since 2020. He survived an assassination attempt in 2010. Abbasi is a technocrat nominee associated with Iran’s nuclear program.
Ali-Reza Afshar
Afshar, 70, is an officer in the Revolutionary Guards who has held several senior roles in the IRGC, Basij and Ministry of Interior. Afshar stood aside for Raisi before the official list was announced.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Ahmadinejad, 64, was the former president (2005-2013). Ahmadinejad has said he will call for a boycott in the case of his disqualification, and is likely to try to disrupt the election.
Hossein Dehghan
Dehghan, 64, is a former brigadier-general of the Revolutionary Guards and war veteran, who served as Rouhani’s minister of defence from 2013-2017. Dehghan comes from the military faction and is close to the Supreme Leader, having served as a senior advisor to Khamenei until recently. Dehghan stood aside before the official list was announced, and offered his support for Ebrahim Raisi.
Rostam Ghasemi
Ghasemi, 57, is a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guards and war veteran who served as Minister for Petroleum under the Ahmadinejad administration. Although officially retired from the military, Ghasemi’s activities are strongly affiliated with the IRGC, he is on an EU sanctions list and he survived an assassination attempt in Lebanon in March while on official duties. Ghasemi stood aside before the announcement of the official list, although he did not offer support to any specific candidate.
Mohsen Hashemi
Hashemi, 59, is the son of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and one of the most senior Reformists to register in this election. He has served as a city councillor in Tehran and worked in several senior civic administration roles. Reformists had hoped for his candidacy, and have chosen not to back any candidate following the disqualification of Hashemi and other Reformist backed candidates.
Eshaq Jahangiri
Jahangiri, 63, is the current First Vice President. His disqualification came as a surprise although Jahangiri refused to challenge the decision.
Mostafa Kavakebian
Kavakebian, 58, is a member of parliament who has nominated at the last two presidential elections, only to be disqualified. Kavakebian is a Reformist and the Secretary General of Democracy Party (Hezb-e Mardom-salari).
Ali Larijani
Larijani, 63, is a former Speaker of the Parliament. Larijani positioned himself as an alternative to Raisi, and his disqualification came as a surprise. Insiders blame his daughter’s residency in the United States for his disqualification.
Saeed Mohammad
Mohammad, 52, is a senior member of the Revolutionary Guards and Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya construction arm of the IRGC, which is notably involved in the engineering side of the nuclear program, and is under US and EU sanctions. Mohammad is considered a relatively youthful and ideologically committed potential candidate. His disqualification was not a surprise, and Saeed Mohammad chose to accept it rather than challenge it..
Ali Motahari
Motahari, 62, is a high-profile parliamentarian and the son of a key disciple of Khomeini. Traditionally a conservative, he has drawn some sympathy the Reformist camp since his criticism of Ahmadinejad and the 2009 election resulted in violence against him. Motahari has maintained a low profile since registering.
Masoud Pezeshkian
Pezeshkian, 66, is a Reformist who served in the Khatami cabinet and is currently a member of the Majles. Pezeshkian supports is from Mahabad and his support for increased teaching in the Azeri language has made him popular in the large parts of north-west Iran where Azeri is spoken. Pezeshkian accepted his disqualification without protest.
Mohammad Shariatmadari
Shariatmadari, 60, is the Current Minister for Labour and Social Welfare who also served under the Khatami administration in the 1990s and as a foreign policy advisor for the Supreme Leader. He was one of several moderates on the Reform List for this election. Shariatmadari’s disqualification was a surprise.
Zahra Shojaei
Shjoaei, 65, is a women’s rights activist and Reformist who served in Khatami’s cabinet. Shojaei is the most senior woman to register in these elections. Shojaei’s disqualification has continued to raise questions regarding whether women are actually allowed to run for President.
Hassan Sobhani
Sobhani, 68, is an economist from the University of Tehran and former parliamentarian who has nominated unsuccessfully before. Sobhani has declared himself as an Independent.
Mostafa Tajzadeh
Tajzadeh, 64, is a Reformist who served in Khatami’s cabinet and later worked with Mir-Hossein Mousavi on the 2009 election campaign. After the election, Tajzadeh spent 7 years in prison. Tajzadeh’s registration was largely symbolic and he was never likely to be approved as a candidate.
Ezzatollah Zarghami
Zarghami, 61, is a former IRGC Brigadier-General who headed the national broadcaster from 2004 to 2014. Zarghami accepted his disqualification without protest.