Iran's hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered as a candidate in the presidential election, seeking to regain the country's top political office after his death in a helicopter crash.
The registration of the populist former leader has piled pressure on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During his time in office, Ahmadinejad openly challenged the 85-year-old cleric and his attempt to run in the 2021 elections was blocked by authorities.
The return of the Holocaust questioner and firebrand comes at a time of rising tensions between Iran and the West over Iran's burgeoning nuclear program, its support for arms sales to Russia in the Ukraine war and a widespread crackdown on dissent.
Meanwhile, Iran's support for militia proxy forces across the Middle East has come into the spotlight as Yemen's Houthi rebels attack shipping in the Red Sea over Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
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Ahmadinejad is the most likely candidate to have registered so far, and in a speech after registering, he called for “constructive engagement” with the world and vowed to improve economic ties with all countries.
“The economic, political, cultural and security challenges are beyond what they were in 2013, when I left office after two terms as president,” Ahmadinejad said.
Speaking to reporters in front of more than 50 microphones, Ahmadinejad raised his finger and added: “Long live spring, long live Iran!”
Supporters waving Iranian flags and chanting slogans before the president arrived at Iran's Interior Ministry. They quickly surrounded Ahmadinejad, 67, chanting “God is great!”
He walked down the steps of the ministry building and, as is customary, showed his passport to the dozens of photographers and video journalists waiting to be registered.
As the women processed his candidacy, he sat, turned to reporters, nodded and smiled for the cameras.
Elections are scheduled for June 28 to decide the successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Ayatollah Khamenei who died in a helicopter crash in May along with seven others.
Former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, a conservative with strong ties to Iran's relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, has already registered, as has Abdolnaser Hemmati, the former governor of the Central Bank of Iran, who is also running in 2021.
It is unclear who else might run. The country's acting president, Mohammed Mokbel, a former backroom bureaucrat, has already been seen meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei and could be the front-runner.
Reformist former President Mohammed Khatami has also been discussed as a possible candidate, but, like Ahmadinejad, whether he would be allowed to run is another matter.
The five-day registration period ends on Tuesday and Iran's Guardian Council is expected to announce the final list of candidates within 10 days.
This will allow for a condensed two-week campaign before the vote in late June.
A caricature of Western perception
Ahmadinejad served two four-year terms as Iran's president from 2005 to 2013.
Iranian law makes the president eligible to run again after four years out of office, but he remains a divisive figure even among his fellow hard-line politicians.
His controversial re-election in 2009 sparked massive “Green Movement” protests and a sweeping crackdown that saw thousands detained and dozens killed.
Abroad, he became a caricature of what the West perceived as Iran's worst traits: he questioned the Holocaust, insisted there were no gays in Iran and suggested Iran could build nuclear weapons if it so chose.
But Ahmadinejad remains popular among the poor thanks to his populist approaches and housing-building programs.
Since leaving office, he has increased his profile through social media and written widely publicized letters to world leaders.
Trump has also criticized government corruption, but his own administration has faced corruption allegations and two former vice presidents have been imprisoned.
In 2017, Khamenei warned Ahmadinejad that if he ran for president again it would create a “polarized situation” that would be “harmful to the country”.
When Ahmadinejad ran for president in the 2021 elections, his candidacy was rejected by the 12-member Guardian Council, made up of clerics and jurists who ultimately report to Ayatollah Khamenei.
The committee has never accepted anyone who seeks fundamental change in the way women or the country is governed.
The committee could again reject Ahmadinejad, but the election to replace Ebrahim Raisi has yet to produce a candidate with the clear and overwhelming backing of Ayatollah Khamenei.
AP