Removal of Larijani, Haqaniyan, Ahmadinejad, and Jahangiri from the Circle of Trusted Figures of the Regime; Users' Hint: Your Trip Was Canceled by Khamenei

The Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic has deemed only six out of 80 presidential election candidates as 'qualified.' The removal of several former officials from Khamenei's circle of trusted figures, including Ahmadinejad, Larijani, Jahangiri, and Haqaniyan, has sparked reactions from social media users. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former president of the Islamic Republic, Ali Larijani, former speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Es'haq Jahangiri, first vice president during Hassan Rouhani's term, and Vahid Haqaniyan, executive assistant to Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, were among those excluded. According to the Guardian Council's announcement, only six candidates, including Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, have been approved. A number of social media users have reiterated that they will not participate in what they describe as a 'show' election. Shahryar Shams, a civil activist in Iran, is among those who consider both factions within the Islamic Republic structure to be the same, recalling protesters' slogans in recent years: 'Reformist, Principlist, the story is over.' Mohammad Mahajeri, a conservative journalist and political activist, reacted to the announcement of the approved candidates by writing on social media platform X, 'The days of disqualification continue!' He urged the Guardian Council members to 'come out of their rooms right now' and ask 'the 100 people passing in front of the building' about the approved list, then count 'the number of people who laugh.' After the announcement of the approved candidates, Yaghma Fakhshami, a journalist, published part of a statement from the Telegram channel of the Quds Force, claiming that the Guardian Council privately informed some individuals of their disqualification to 'preserve dignity and respect' and asked them to 'withdraw from the election process before the official announcement.' One user on social media X reacted to Ali Larijani's disqualification by referring to his initial campaign advertisements, which featured an image styled like ride-hailing apps, stating, 'Without you, we won't reach our destination,' writing, 'Your trip was canceled by Khamenei.' Another user on X reacted to the disqualifications, saying that the Guardian Council acted so 'bluntly' that they even disqualified 'the aide of Khamenei's office,' let alone Larijani and Jahangiri. Some users also pointed to the residency of the children of Ali Larijani and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Western countries and the disqualification of one for this reason, despite the other being approved. For instance, Jalal Khaleqi, a journalist close to Larijani's faction, pointed out the similar conditions of the two candidates, asking why Qalibaf was not disqualified for the same reason Larijani was disqualified last time (his child's residency). 'Does the law differ from law and residency from residency?' he questioned. Hafez Salehi, a user loyal to the Islamic Republic, also viewed the disqualification of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance from Ebrahim Raisi's government and a candidate for the election as the removal of the circle close to Raisi's son-in-law, writing that 'the disqualification of Mohammad Mahdi Ismaili as the final candidate of the 'Miqdad circle' marks the beginning of the removal of this radical, inexperienced, and pretentious faction from the political sphere of the Islamic Republic.' Majid Mohammadi, a sociologist and political analyst, also referred to all presidential candidates as 'logistics providers' and 'porters' who registered to 'swear allegiance' and predicted that among them, those who 'proposed a policy other than Khamenei's view,' those who have party activities, 'did not follow the orders of the office' and 'there is doubt about their serious involvement in the killing of people' would be disqualified. The election headquarters of the Islamic Republic announced on Sunday, June 20, that Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Alireza Zakani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi were the six individuals registered for the 14th presidential election who were 'approved.' The upcoming election, which is set to be held early on July 8 due to the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, has been described by users and political observers with titles such as 'a show of force,' 'an electoral circus,' 'stand-up comedy,' and 'a farcical display,' with many citizens emphasizing that they will not participate. Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Republic have criminalized the coverage of news related to calls for boycotting the elections. Sina Ghanbarpour, a journalist, told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic is worried about the possibility of people boycotting the elections and political currents responding to the people's demands after observing a significant decrease in participation in the Islamic Consultative Assembly elections.