Iran is bracing for a heated and divisive election season after a powerful conservative cleric threw himself into the presidential race to challenge the moderate incumbent, Hassan Rouhani. Ebrahim Raisi: the Iranian cleric emerging as a frontrunner for supreme leader Read moreOver the past year, Raisi has been touted as a frontrunner to become Khamenei’s successor, a higher position than that of the president. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, waves to a crowd in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Meanwhile, Iran’s former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been blocked by Khamenei to run, has formally backed his ex-deputy, Hamid Baghaei. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, could face an attempt to disqualify him from seeking re-election.

Source: The Guardian April 09, 2017 14:15 UTC