Final Presidential Debate; Widespread Accusations Among Candidates

In the third presidential debate held on Friday among six candidates, although the focus of the questions was on economic issues, the candidates did not miss any opportunity to exchange accusations, particularly economic and managerial allegations against each other. The climax of these accusations was the repeated claims by Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf regarding the special discounts received by Hassan Rouhani and Eshaq Jahangiri in purchasing houses and land in Tehran. He cited the purchase of an 800-square-meter land by Rouhani at a price of 3,000 tomans per square meter in the early 1990s, and the purchase of a 385-square-meter land by Jahangiri at a price of 140,000 tomans per square meter in the late 1990s. In response, Qalibaf published a list of his assets on social media during the debate, stating that he has less than 30 million tomans in two bank accounts and a shop in the Khayyam international market. He also acknowledged that his wife owns a 330-square-meter house in District 4 of Tehran, a 180-square-meter house in Mashhad, a 1987 Mazda car, and a total of 8 million tomans in three bank accounts. Regarding Qalibaf's children, whose economic activities have recently come under media scrutiny, he only mentioned one dependent child, Eshaq Qalibaf, stating that his assets include a 1971 Patrol, a motorcycle, and a total of 1 million tomans in four bank accounts. In contrast, Hassan Rouhani and Eshaq Jahangiri pointed out that the properties mentioned by Qalibaf were purchased at the prices of their time and referred to related activities. Rouhani referred to a case involving Qalibaf in 2005, stating that if he had not prevented the media exposure of this case, Qalibaf would not be in this position now. This reference was to a smuggling case related to Qalibaf's brother during his tenure at the anti-smuggling headquarters, which did not receive media attention. Additionally, Qalibaf, who had referred to the 'martyr's brother' Eshaq Jahangiri in the first debate, in the final debate alluded to another brother of Jahangiri, Mehdi Jahangiri, in the Tourism Bank and implicitly accused him of participating in banking corruption. In response, Jahangiri mentioned the violations of Bank Shahr and Bank Sarmayeh, two credit institutions related to the municipality, and added that at a time when the Iranian people faced a lack of medicine, the Tehran municipality allowed the sale of ice cream costing several hundred thousand tomans at Milad Tower. Hassan Rouhani also hinted at the connection of the 'Mizan' credit institution with the judiciary, referring to Ebrahim Raisi. However, while Qalibaf criticized the government in the second debate for failing to politicize universities, Rouhani pointed out the security background of the Tehran mayor, stating that during his tenure as police chief, he sought to 'pipe students.' He addressed Qalibaf, saying, 'You, whose plan was always to 'pipe,' whenever you came to the secretariat, you said let me pipe these students in two hours; if we had not stood in your way, all our universities would have been filled with pipes!' Qalibaf also referred to allegations regarding his property in Tehran, saying, 'If I had more than one house in Tehran at any time, it should belong to you. Now, if I have one more house, it should belong to you, and go pursue that violation. You know what that land was exchanged for, and you know it and are now presenting it differently.' He told Qalibaf, 'You should not talk about the properties and assets of the people; we have put all our assets at the disposal of the judiciary, you should have done so according to the law, why didn't you? And you come here and act hypocritically!' Rouhani continued, 'If you are very upset about the land, take care of Torghabeh and see what your relatives did there?' He also referred to the support of military and security institutions for Ebrahim Raisi, saying, 'Ask those who bring crowds for you by bus from cities, from those revolutionary and security institutions that bring them for you, where their money comes from? They are doing it with public funds. You, who are a judge, why don't you deal with that?' He said, 'Mr. Raisi, you can say whatever you want about me. You can throw any accusation you want; after all, you are a judge, and your hands are free, and you can do anything. You are also the prosecutor of the clergy and can arrest all the scholars; we should ask what the scholars have suffered from you.' He continued, 'But I ask you and urge you to leave Imam Reza for the people. For God's sake, do not make Imam Reza partisan and factional. Imam Reza is the pride of all Iranians, Shiites, and Muslims. If you want to send sugar and green cloth to the villages, let it be after the elections; stop it now.' In response, Ebrahim Raisi stated that from his perspective, 'the security of the country is contingent upon fighting corruption, and if corruption is under my turban and Mr. Rouhani's, or under Mr. Jahangiri's or Qalibaf's coat, it makes no difference; it must be dealt with sensitively.' He continued, 'That someone informs Mr. Rouhani that the closest person to you is committing million-dollar corruption and there is resistance in this regard is incompatible with reforming the administrative system.' Raisi explained, 'Mr. Rouhani, you know me; I do not speak empty words; this issue of corruption involving your close associates was discussed by the first deputy of the judiciary and the attorney general in your office, and complete documents and evidence were given to you that the closest person to you has million-dollar problems. If I were you, I would assist in taking legal action; they said that if this is not done now or is questioned, it is not compatible with the spirit of someone who is the head of the government.' This issue referred to allegations against Hossein Fereydoun, the special assistant and brother of Mr. Rouhani. Although Hassan Rouhani claimed in this debate that if a case is raised regarding his close associates, it should also be addressed. The issue of combating corruption was not only reflected in the speeches of these four presidential candidates, and in this regard, Mostafa Mir Salim also introduced his future government as a 'clean government' and emphasized that combating corruption in executive bodies 'is only possible by electing an anti-corruption and clean government.' The third debate of the presidential candidates, held on Friday, May 22, was the last confrontation of the candidates, and these candidates and their supporters will have a six-day opportunity to attract the votes of the people. The presidential election, along with the city and village council elections, will be held on Friday, May 29, and candidates have until 24 hours before the election, that is, until 8 AM on Thursday, to campaign.