In The Time-Honored Tradition Of Politicians Everywhere, Mohsen Rezaei Kisses A Small Child
Presidential candidates Mohsen Rezaei and Mohammad Reza Aref have all stepped up their campaigns in recent days. The two candidates have appeared to take a more "grassroots" approach, with Rezaei in particular focussing on issues outside of Tehran.
Aref went on walkabout in Tehran in Wednesday, talking to ordinary Iranians as they went about their daily business.
In a live television address, the Reformist candidate said that the current situation in Iran was due to the fact that Principlists and conservatives have dominated the government for the past eight years.
During the interview, Aref slammed the "security environment" in Iran and said that if he were elected, his administration would stop insulting Mousavi, Khatami and Rafsanjani.
Aref said that he was "concerned about the ideals of the Revolution, about the country's integrity and about the gap between the first and third generations."
Aref also said that his plans included all ethnic groups including "Zoroastrians, Jews, Sunni and Shia Muslims."
Meanwhile, in a series of speeches to Iranians around the country, former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei has stressed his economic expertise, his revolutionary background and his place as a "man of the people", pledging to "save the economy with the Revolution".
Rezaei, who has taken his campaigning outside Tehran as well as attempting to drum up support in the capital including among Bazaaris, said that he wants to solve the problem of poverty among ordinary Iranians.
Speaking in the southern port city of Assaulyeh --- which has a high poverty rate even though it is home to Iran's South Pars gas field --- the former IRGC chief said he wants to improve conditions for local people by fighting poverty and unemployment.
"The country has been selling oil for a century, but still some people are living in poverty," Rezaei said.
Earlier this week, Rezaei also said that he intended to turn the southern province of Hormuzgan into a special economic zone.
Rezaei's website Tabnak posted photos of his visit to Qarchak, where he spoke with supporters in the street and at a local mosque.
Presidential Election Watch: Velayati Edition
Presidential candidate and senior adviser to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati focused on Iran's foreign policy in a televised interview on Wednesday, saying that "successful" diplomacy with the West would help reduce sanctions.
However, Velayati blamed Iran's current economic situation on bad management rather than embargoes.
Velayati, a former foreign minister, said that if elected he plans to waive visa requirements with as many as 40 countries.
The IRDiplomacy website, close to former Iranian diplomat and adviser to former President Khatami Seyed Mohammad Sadegh Kharazi, has published excerpts of an interview with Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani, which is highly critical of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's foreign policy.
Rouhani argues that though the events of the Arab Spring --- which Iran refers to as the Islamic Awakening --- could have changed the strategic balance in the Middle East to Iran's advantage, "some unwise and radical behaviors deprived the Islamic Republic of Iran of using the situation to its benefit."
Ahmadinejad's policies --- including his Holocaust denial and calls to eliminate Israel --- merely led to "increased unity among Iran's enemies", Rouhani argued.
Regarding whether Iran should open bilateral talks with the US, Rouhani said:
The present conditions must be carefully analyzed and, if necessary, negotiation and bilateral dialogue with the US must not be avoided. The first steps should be aimed at preventing the increase of pressures and stopping the trend of the present sanctions. During the next stages, the atmosphere must be balanced until the complete elimination of sanctions.I don’t believe in negotiation just for the sake of negotiation and without achieving any results. We must have a clear agenda and objective in negotiating with the US.
Presidential Election Watch: Jalili Edition
Presidential candidate and Supreme National Security Council secretary Saeed Jalili focusses on Iran's nuclear rights and role on the world stage, tweeting that the US has said that "Iran is a world power", whereas the world's media were trying to give the impression that Iran was in a weak position:
مقامات آمریکا و بسیاری از اندیشکده ها به صراحت اعلام می کنند:«بسیاری از مسائلجهان بدون حضور ایران قابل حل نیست» و«ایران یک قدرت جهانی است»
— Dr Saeed Jalili (@DrSaeedJalili) May 30, 2013
در همین راستا تلاش تمام رسانه های جهان این است که ملت ما را از این واقعیت و این موفقیتها غافل کنند و به این نتیجه برسانند در موضع ضعف هستیم.
— Dr Saeed Jalili (@DrSaeedJalili) May 30, 2013
Earlier this week, Jalili told supporters in Qom that Iran is "determined to defend its nuclear rights".
Repeating comments that he made earlier this year during Iran's talks with the P5+1 powers in Almaty, Jalili said that Iran had initially taken the step of enriching uranium to 20% U-235 purity after the West refused to provide Tehran with nuclear material to make medical isotopes.
Jalili has taken a nationalist approach to the nuclear issue, stating that while the West "did not believe" that Iran was capable of enriching uranium to 20%, Tehran's scientists had managed to achieve this without Western help.
Minister of Industry Mehdi Ghazanfari has declared successful in handling of the Iranian economy, despite the halving of oil revenue in the past year: “The market’s total management in the days before and after the elections is one of the primary missions of this agency in supporting political valor.”
Presidential Election --- Warning the Candidates
Following the Supreme Leader's injunction that “presidential election candidates must only tell the truth to the people" --- including "truths of the country’s current state of affairs" --- head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani has said, "It is expected from election candidates to maintain the dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic of Iran system and its characteristic independence and religious democracy.”
Presidential Election --- Security Edition
The Iranian authorities continue to warn the media about "inappropriate" coverage of the election.
Minister of Culture Mohammad Hosseini has called for a “more serious" supervision of foreign journalists coming to Iran to cover the vote. The head of the Basij militia, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, declared, beyond the election:
“The Dominant System has taken aim at our nation’s Islamic lifestyle, beliefs, views, and opinions. Eighty radio networks, 120 satellite networks, thousands of internet networks, and millions of vulgar [CD]s are just parts of the cultural conspiracies of [Global] Arrogance.”
Meanwhile, Law Enforcement Forces Commander Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam predicted that the June 14 election would be “passionate”, but vowed it would be "one of the most secure in history".
Presidential Election Watch: Rouhani Talks About Sedition
The campaign team of Moderate Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani has published a video of a question-and-answer session Rouhani did at Tehran University on May 6, in which he talks about the widespread protests following the disputed 2009 election.
The first question Rouhani addresses is whether he considered the events of 2009 to be popular protests or sedition directed from overseas.
Rouhani answered:
In the beginning when people came out onto the streets, those were natural and popular demonstrations, which should have been attended to…I had mentioned that I was not in favor of the continuation of the protests because that would not resolve the issue. In a formal meeting back then, after the 2009 elections, I made a suggestion. I suggested that we make an announcement to the public that we would randomly select 20% of the ballot boxes and recount the vote. The outcome of the 20% will then be applied to all votes…
Canada Bans All Trade With Tehran
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has announced a total ban on imports and exports with Iran.
Baird declared in the foyer of Parliament, "Canada continues to have grave and sincere concerns over Iran's nuclear program and their abhorrent human rights records and their continued support for international terrorism around the world."
Thirty people and 82 new entities have been added to Canada's sanctions blacklist.
Parliament Finally Approves 2013/14 Budget
On Monday, Parliament approved a 7.27-quadrillion Rial (about $593 billion) national budget for the current Iranian year, which runs from March 2013 to March 2014.
The vote was 170-8, with 7 abstentions.
Spending is up 22% compared to last year, despite a forecast of 40% less oil revenue. The budget is based on a projected oil price of $95 per barrel.
The budget was presented late, only weeks before the start of the year, and then held up amid tension between Parliament and the Ahmadinejad Government. A stop-gap, three-month budget was approved in March.