Presidential chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei has said that he has not decided yet to run for the 2013 presidential election.
“Ask about my candidacy for the presidential election six months before the election,” he told reporters on Saturday when asked about his plans for the next presidential election.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s close ally also said he has no intention to run for the 2012 parliamentary elections.
This article was first published in Tehran Times on 16 April 2011; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. See, also, <www.yjc.ir/portal/NewsDesc.aspx?newsid=2019452>. Cf. Henry Newman, “Will Iran Get a Female President?” (Guardian, 15 May 2009); “Mahmoud & Esfandiar’s Excellent Adventure” (MRZine, 13 August 2009); Jamsheed K. Choksy, “Ahmadinejad Bucks Religious Establishment” (Newsweek, 11 February 2010); “Mashaei Rocks the Haus” (MRZine, 23 March 2010); Golnaz Esfandiari, “Iran: Ahmadinejad Says No One Has Any Right to Bother Women about Hijab or Couples about Their Relationship” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 16 June 2010); “Chronology of Controversy: Who is Esfandiar Mashaei?” (Iranian Diplomacy, 30 November 2010 ); Farhad Pouladi, “Iran Govt Opposes Panahi’s Sentence: Top Official” (AFP, 18 January 2011); Yoshie Furuhashi, “Iran: Hard-Line Women Heckle Mashaei” (MRZine, 12 February 2011); Ali Alfoneh, “Ahmadinejad’s Divine Successor” (The American, 11 April 2011).
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