Iranian media report that the Guardian Council may belatedly disqualify reformist candidate Hassan Rohani from running for president.
The Mehr and Fars news agencies quoted an informed source on Sunday June 9 saying Rohani’s possible disqualification is related to his “divulging of secret nuclear intelligence in the televised debates.” According to this report, the Guardian Council will examine the issue on Monday.
The source cited a second cause for the council’s reconsideration: the content of the “slogans and statements of Rohani’s supporters at an election campaign gathering on Saturday June 8.”
Fars reports that Rohani’s “support for the leaders of sedition in his speeches, his divulging of regime intelligence and his support for the anti-security movement” have led the Guardian Council to reconsider his eligibility.
The establishment refers to MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two candidates that challenged the 2009 election and are currently under house arrest, as leaders of sedition.
Rohani’s supporters gathered on two occasions in Tehran, and both times slogans were chanted in support of the 2009 post-election protests. On both occasions, some of the participants were reportedly arrested.
The last debate among presidential candidates was marked by heavy criticism of Iran’s handling of its nuclear talks. Rohani was even joined by all of the conservative candidates in attacking Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator who is now vying for the presidential post, for failing to curtail the sanctions that have severely harmed the Iranian economy.
