Zakani, who became Tehran mayor after withdrawing in favour of Raisi in the 2021 race, said in a post on X following his qualification on Sunday that he wishes to “continue the path” of the late president. Parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian, former interior and justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, the head of Iran’s Martyrs Foundation, cap the list of the six approved candidates. The 70-year-old Pezeshkian, a veteran five-term lawmaker and former health minister, is the only candidate representing significantly weakened moderate and reformist factions of Iran’s political landscape.
