Saeed Mortazavi: My Wish is for Ebrahim Raisi to Become President

Ebrahim Raisi, the presidential candidate in Iran, delivered a speech in Yazd on Tuesday, which was attended by Saeed Mortazavi, the former head of the Social Security Organization and the suspended judge of the Kahrizak case. Mortazavi's presence sparked various reactions, including a disavowal from Raisi's campaign headquarters. According to IRNA news agency, some active social media channels in Yazd claimed that Mortazavi stated he supports Raisi during the speech. The news site Entekhab reported that Mortazavi expressed, 'My wish is for Raisi to become president.' These remarks prompted a response from Raisi's campaign, which stated, 'Raisi's travels are not related to specific individuals.' Ebrahim Raisi holds the position of custodian of Astan Quds Razavi, one of the major financial institutions under the Supreme Leader, and is considered the main rival of Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election. Raisi previously served as the deputy prosecutor during the 1980s executions committee, which sentenced hundreds of opponents of the Islamic Republic to death. Mortazavi is associated with the widespread suppression of the press in Iran and the arrest of journalists, having been a judge of press courts for many years. Ultimately, his suspension from judicial positions resulted from the events at Kahrizak detention center following the 2009 presidential election, which led to the deaths of several detainees. Mortazavi, who was the Tehran prosecutor at the time, is accused of being involved in these events. Other news regarding the Iranian presidential election includes the announcement of the debate schedule for the candidates. The first debate among the presidential candidates will take place on Friday, April 27, lasting three hours and featuring six candidates, broadcast live on Iran's Channel One and News Network. The twelfth presidential election will coincide with city and village council elections on May 18. Hassan Rouhani, Ebrahim Raisi, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Eshaq Jahangiri, Mostafa Hashemi Taba, and Mostafa Mir-Salim are the six candidates approved by the Guardian Council to participate in the presidential election. According to Tasnim news agency, Hassan Rouhani stated on Tuesday upon entering the IRIB for a television program that he has a structured plan for boosting production, exiting recession, and resolving unemployment, saying, 'I have a documented plan that I will publish.' He also announced that 'I will have a hundred-day plan that I will announce.' Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, in an interview with Tasnim news agency published on Wednesday, responded to the question regarding critics who say Raisi lacks sufficient executive experience to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the presidency, stating, 'His executive experience is no less than that of Rouhani, as Dr. Rouhani also lacked direct executive experience.' Larijani's comparison of Raisi's executive experience with that of Rouhani comes at a time when Rouhani's performance, especially in economic matters, has drawn significant criticism among Iranian officials, and even Ali Khamenei has remarked that 'there is a significant gap between the actions taken and the expectations of the people and the leadership.' Larijani further mentioned Raisi's managerial background in the judiciary but added that 'naturally, the realm of political issues is much broader than judicial matters and supervisory management'; he urged Raisi to 'engage various working forces.' When asked about the chances of Raisi and Qalibaf in this election, he said, 'They have good chances and success, but they need to take the matter seriously and base their campaign on young, talented, and educated forces.' Reactions to the 'insult' from Rouhani's advisor, Hesamoddin Ashna, on Tuesday regarding the way election candidates are challenged by IRIB presenters, stated, 'If we have not allowed presenters to be trained over four years, over forty years, to make candidates fear them like dogs, we have not allowed such presenters to be trained (I did not say who the dog is). They should fear and know that if they say something irrelevant, that presenter has previously shown what he does with individuals. If we have not trained these, then that candidate is not showing respect for that presenter; he is bypassing the IRIB, he is bypassing the election headquarters.' Ashna's remarks sparked various reactions, including from Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, a representative from Shahin Shahr in the parliament, who told Fars news agency, 'Mr. Ashna has initiated a project that smells of disrupting the election game.' The representative from Shahin Shahr stated, 'These gentlemen want to create a situation now that if they do not win the election, they will disrupt the country, and the responsible authorities must take necessary precautions regarding this matter.' Hossein Shariati, the editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper, also reacted on Wednesday to Ashna's statement, asserting that Ashna's presence in the government contradicts Article 141 of the Constitution. Meanwhile, Mostafa Hashemi Taba, one of the candidates, dismissed Ashna's remarks as 'superfluous' that 'do not merit a response.' In this context, candidates and slogans: 'Empty promises' in 'new packaging' Ebrahim Raisi promised to create six million jobs and triple subsidies, a surge of 'populism' in the Iranian presidential election, heated discussions from the 96 elections, and a request for transparency in an open letter to the Reformist Policy Council.