Iran's Health Minister: Hassan Rouhani Will Run in Presidential Elections

Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced on Wednesday that Hassan Rouhani will participate again in the upcoming presidential elections next year. According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Hashemi stated at the 25th meeting of the heads of medical universities and colleges: "We are pleased that Dr. Rouhani has decided to participate in the upcoming elections, and I hope he will gain the trust of the people again and become our president once more with a higher vote than June 14, 2013." The confirmation of Hassan Rouhani's candidacy for next year's elections comes amid conflicting reports in recent weeks regarding his qualification approval or disqualification by the Guardian Council. Initially, earlier this week, the vice president of the Hope faction in the parliament reported that the issue of Rouhani's disqualification had been resolved "under the guidance of high-ranking officials of the system." However, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council stated on Tuesday that this was not true. Abbasali Kadkhodaei told the Mizan news agency, affiliated with the judiciary, "I am not aware of such discussions {regarding high-ranking officials of the system negotiating to change the process of disqualifying or approving candidates for next year's presidential elections}." Mohammad Reza Tabbesh, a reformist representative in the parliament, stated to ILNA news agency earlier this week that a "severe psychological war" is being waged against Hassan Rouhani to prevent him from running in the upcoming presidential elections, and that Mr. Rouhani might withdraw. However, conservatives claim that Rouhani's support has decreased compared to 2013. Mohammad Reza Bahonar, the vice president of the ninth parliament, stated on Wednesday: "In my opinion, Mr. Rouhani's support has decreased, and the hope of reformists at the moment is that their rival does not have a prominent figure to compete with Rouhani; however, this may not happen." Conservative groups have formed the "Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces" ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. Mohammad Hossein Rahimian, a former representative of the Supreme Leader in the Martyrs Foundation, is the head of this group's founding council, and Mehdhi Chamran, Yahya Al-e Es'haq, Alireza Marandi, and Hamid Reza Hajibabaei are among other conservative figures in this group. Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, a former deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, is also the executive head of this new group. This group has not yet announced its final candidate to compete with Hassan Rouhani. The twelfth presidential election of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be held on May 29 next year, and the registration of candidates is set to begin on April 11, 2017. The Guardian Council has disqualified a large number of presidential candidates in past elections. Critics accuse the Guardian Council of bias towards one faction of the Islamic Republic. In this context, Rouhani stated: "Everyone should be able to freely participate in the elections." Rouhani's legal advisor stated: "Military involvement in elections, even behind the scenes, is prohibited." Tabbesh: "The issue of Rouhani's potential disqualification has been resolved."