Ebrahim Raisi, Custodian of Astan Quds, Officially Announces Candidacy for Presidential Election

Ebrahim Raisi officially announced his candidacy for the presidential election on Thursday, April 6, and received the highest votes among conservative candidates at the meeting of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces" (Jemna). However, he is not yet considered the final candidate of this group, and the final nominee will be selected again from among the top five candidates chosen on the same Thursday. According to Fars News Agency, the second assembly of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces" was held on Thursday morning, where Solet Mortazavi, the mayor of Mashhad, announced on behalf of Mr. Raisi that he would run for the presidency. Mohammad Hassan Rahimian, the head of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces," also stated that Mr. Raisi was supposed to attend the meeting on Thursday but withdrew due to an earthquake in Khorasan Razavi. Meanwhile, the presence of the mayor of Mashhad at this meeting on behalf of Mr. Raisi has drawn criticism on social media, with some users questioning whether the Mashhad municipality has direct responsibility for the earthquake around the city or if it falls to Astan Quds Razavi. In the Thursday meeting of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces" known as Jemna, Ebrahim Raisi received 1813 votes, Parviz Fattah 1661, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf 1573, Alireza Zakani 1552, and Hamid Reza Hajibabaei 1525 votes, making them the top five candidates of this group. Based on previous statements from members of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces," the final candidate of this group will be chosen from these five candidates in subsequent meetings. Meanwhile, some media and political analysts refer to Ebrahim Raisi as the most significant rival to Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election. Ebrahim Raisi was appointed as the custodian of Astan Quds Razavi by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic after the death of Abbas Vaez Tabasi in March 2016. Astan Quds Razavi is one of the major financial institutions under the Supreme Leader's supervision. In recent weeks, the distribution of hundreds of tons of flour in Khuzestan province by this institution has been reported in the media, and some social media users, along with Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, have compared this action to the distribution of potatoes by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government before the 2009 presidential election campaign. Ebrahim Raisi previously served as the deputy prosecutor at the time in the decision-making committee for the executions of the 1980s. Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri referred to his role in this matter in an audio file published a few months ago by his son, Ahmad Montazeri. However, Mr. Raisi has not yet reacted to this issue. The former first deputy of the judiciary was also selected as one of the members of the three-person special committee to investigate the allegations of abuse of detained protesters in Kahrizak following the controversial 2009 elections, which rejected Mr. Karrubi's statements and deemed them "defamation of the system's dignity and credibility." Mr. Raisi was also a member of the supervisory board for the presidential elections, from which he resigned before announcing his candidacy. Some media outlets have mentioned Ebrahim Raisi as a potential candidate for the leadership of the Islamic Republic after Ayatollah Khamenei. In this context, Hesamuddin Ashna, a cultural advisor to Hassan Rouhani, tweeted last month urging Mr. Raisi to "learn from the past" and not to expose himself to "public judgment" as a former judge. In the Thursday meeting of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces," Mohsen Rezaei announced that he has no intention of running for election. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, also stated on Wednesday, April 5, that he has "not made any request for candidacy" and emphasized the need to "work towards replacing the current president with a suitable one." Parviz Fattah, the head of the Relief Committee, also sent a message stating that he did not attend the meeting of the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces" due to "constraints," but accepts the "mechanism for selecting candidates" by this group. In the meeting of the Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution, several candidates from this group, including Ezzatollah Zarghami, Mehrdad Bazrpash, Rostam Qasemi, Ali Nikzad, Alireza Zakani, and Hamid Reza Hajibabaei, criticized the performance of Hassan Rouhani's government. The conservative coalition known as the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces" was established in early December 2016. On the other hand, Morteza Aqa Tehrani, the secretary-general of the Steadfast Front, has announced that this group will not cooperate with the "Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces." Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, who is referred to as the "spiritual father of the Steadfast Front," has also stated that he will not accept any "alliances" in the 2017 presidential elections and will not promise support for any candidate.