“Don’t ask political questions,” he said with a grin when asked by reporters about his reaction if he were to be disqualified from running by the Guardian Council – the constitutional body that vets all candidates. Despite Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging him to stay away in 2017, he signed up and was barred from running, but chose to not register for the 2021 election.Ahmadinejad’s presidency was marked by economic malaise defined by massive inflation and currency devaluation, along with explosive tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme – which saw multilateral sanctions imposed on the country. His 2009 re-election sparked the Green Movement of protests across the country amid claims of vote tampering, which were refuted by authorities as they mounted a crackdown.
