Iranian hamster craze, six presidential candidates announced—and more
Iranian hamster craze, six presidential candidates announced—and more
The Iranist for the week of June 13, 2024
۱/1 Six presidential candidates running
* “Reformists” or “Moderates” describe themselves as individuals who believe in the status quo and reforming the Islamic Republic, while “Principlists” or “Fundamentalists” are what Western media call “hardliners.”
WHEN IS THE ELECTION, ETC? Presidential elections will take place on Friday, June 28. Candidates registered from May 30 – June 3. On June 9, the Guardian Council—a twelve-member body, six of which are picked by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei— disqualified the majority of presidential candidates—eighty total—leaving six to run in Iran’s election (AP).
There will be five presidential debates beginning on June 7 and ending on June 25. Campaigning runs from June 12 - June 27, followed by a one-day campaigning blackout. If no presidential candidate secures a majority on June 28, a runoff between the top two candidates will be held on July 5 to determine Iran’s next president.
WHO IS RUNNING?
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf / hardliner / current speaker of parliament (ran in 2005, 2013, 2017), sanctioned by Canada
Saeed Jalili / hardliner / supreme Leader’s representative in the Supreme National Security Council and former nuclear negotiator (ran in 2013, 2021), sanctioned by Canada
Mostafa Pourmohammadi / hardliner / former justice minister and interior minister
Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi / hardliner / Ebrahim Raisi’s vice president (ran in 2021)
Alireza Zakani / hardliner / mayor of Tehran (ran in 2021), sanctioned by the UK
Masoud Pezeshkian / reformist / member of parliament representing Tabriz
SOME NOTES ON CANDIDATES:
The sole reformist. Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, a five-term lawmaker and surgeon, is the only reformist running, which has seemingly breathed some life into the crippled faction which was blocked from partaking in the 2021 presidential election.
As the Financial Times explains:
“Whether this was a conscious decision to add variety to the race and encourage turnout, or a calculation that a mid-ranking reformist would not be able to garner sufficient support to win, is a matter of debate… One regime insider said Iran’s leadership was conscious of the need for a high participation rate to show that the Islamic republic had public legitimacy.”
Pezeshkian is ethnically Azeri and some believe this will garner the northeastern votes in Iran (BBC News). The MP is campaigning on the slogan, “For Iran,” a play on the de facto Women, Life, Freedom uprising anthem, “Baraye” (For the sake of) by Iran-based singer Shervin Hajipour—which, not surprisingly, has angered many Iranians. Pezeshkian has seemingly failed to satisfy his supporters in his first television campaign program, which was described as “boring.” Read the CliffsNotes.
State newspapers seem to be selling Pezeshkian hard (X):
Get ready for Ghalibaf, West. A European diplomatic source claims that Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf’s advisors approached European and American diplomats and officials:
“I’m not sure what their exact objectives are for such meetings. But, it seems that many people inside the regime are discussing the post-[Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei era, and Ghalibaf’s team is trying to convince the West that he is the future leader of Iran and they should start accepting that as a fact.” (IranWire)
Ghalibaf is a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who served as police chief and mayor of Tehran and is currently the speaker of parliament. Ghalibaf is best remembered for his violent crackdown on university students during the 1999 student uprising. He is sanctioned by Canada.
Death commission member. Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former justice minister and deputy intelligence minister, is the only cleric running and reportedly “carries the most negative records.” (IranWire) Pourmohammadi was also a member of the four-member inquisition panels called “death commissions” that executed more than 5,000 political prisoners during the summer of 1988, known as the 1988 massacre (Ebrahim Raisi was also part of the commission and nicknamed “The Butcher of Tehran” because of it).
WARNINGS AHEAD OF THE VOTE. Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei warned the media and all candidates to avoid “actions” that could be “exploited” by foreign entities and also cautioned the media against “defamatory speech, spreading lies or disturbing public opinion,” which could lead to legal consequences (Radio Farda). Last week, strict guidelines were issued against content deemed as promoting election boycotts or discouraging voter turnout, which could carry severe punishments.
Human rights organizations are warning of a crackdown ahead of the presidential election. In the past two weeks alone, at least 300 activists and social media users “have been summoned, arrested or charged for publicly criticizing former President Ebrahim Raisi” after he died in a helicopter crash in mid-May (CHRI).
WILL IRANIANS VOTE? The 2021 presidential election and recent parliamentary elections both had the lowest turnouts in the Islamic Republic’s forty-five-year history. Given systemic mismanagement, corruption, and repression, many are disillusioned with the Islamic Republic and want the regime gone. The clerical establishment has its core support base, but that number gets smaller by the year. Iranians are seemingly unmoved by this election that even the topic of boycotting is not a serious conversation because it’s assumed already that the average Iranian won’t vote.
۲/2 French national freed after being imprisoned for allegedly participating in WLF uprising
۳/3 Iranians are unleashing their inner CEO 🐹
While much of the international attention is on the upcoming presidential election, Iranians are occupied with making what they hope are financial gains through the “play-to-earn” game, Hamster Kombat (IranWire). The mini-app, accessed through the messaging app Telegram, has accumulated 100+ million players worldwide since March, and Iranians have joined the craze.
To play, users tap on a hamster repeatedly to “mine” gold coins to “Unleash your inner CEO!” The goal is to list these coins on actual crypto exchanges, like the app, Notcoin. So, Iranians play Hamster Kombat, hoping they’ll eventually earn crypto since cryptocurrency is big in the country and used as a substitute payment by some since US sanctions prevent international trade.
As with everything in Iran, Hamster Kombat is also a source of many memes and jokes. One meme showed a man repeatedly tapping on the grave of a relative:
One video went viral of an Iranian man explaining the logic behind the game obsession. He noted that while playing Hamster Kombat might not turn into financial gain, it showed how Iranians have more hope in the app than in their government, which controls the economy (X).
On June 8, Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi issued a fatwa declaring Hamster Kombat haram (forbidden) based on “significant ambiguities associated with these types of currencies, including the unclear origin of their extraction, trading, investing, and profiting.” (Iran International)
On the topic of crypto, Mizan News Agency, the official outlet of the judiciary, stated that “in general, it is not legal to trade cryptocurrencies in Iran, but there is no law explicitly stating that trading cryptocurrencies in Iran is illegal or considered a crime.” (Iran International)
Some experts are concerned that the game may lead to data and user identity breaches, which ironically is what FATA (Iranian Cyber Police) said in a state television interview (X).
۴/4 E3 sent letter to United Nations Security Council detailing Iran’s nuclear violations
Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors passed a censure resolution (20 to 2) pushed by the E3—Britain, France, and Germany—on Tehran’s lack of cooperation with nuclear inspections and over its nuclear program advances. Read more.
۵/5 Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other politicians have had cosmetic surgery
۶/6 3,000+ images of Iran’s Qajar dynasty leaked online from an Iranian archive
۷/7 Russia-Iran bilateral cooperation pact delayed
OTHER اخبار/NEWS THAT MADE HEADLINES:
Human rights
۰ Iran executes 67 in May, targeting ethnic minorities and juveniles (Iran International)
۰ Protester takes own life amid security forces pressure (IranWire)
۰ Dissident Hossein Ronaghi again detained by authorities (Iran International)
۰ Cartoonist sentenced to 6 years in prison for activism (Radio Farda)
۰ Iran commutes Sunni cleric’s death sentence to life imprisonment (IranWire)
۰ Imprisoned journalist suffers miscarriage after court session (IranWire)
۰ Political activist freed from Evin Prison after 30 months (IranWire)
۰ Iranian dissidents say they face intimidation, abductions, assassination attempts around the world (CBS News)
Domestic issues
۰ Iran helicopter crash shows Tehran's reliance on an aging fleet as well as its challenges at home (AP)
Foreign policy + security
۰ Fact check: Trump falsely claims Iran didn’t fund terror groups when he was president (CNN)
۰ Over 8,000 foreign nationals imprisoned in Iran (IranWire)
۰ Canada court says airline failed to cancel Iran flight downed by IRGC (Iran International)
۰ Iran International reporter threatened in suspected Tehran-backed plot (Iran International)
۰ Iran continues efforts for release of official arrested in France (Iran International)
۰ Iran seeks release of IRGC officer held in Iraq for murder of American (Iran International)
۰ Evidence of Iran and UAE drones used in Sudan war (BBC)
Iran deal + sanctions
۰ Two US men jailed for conspiracy to sell Iranian oil to China (Reuters)
۰ US Treasury targets companies and vessels behind illicit Houthi shipments (RFE/RL)
۰ US ignored evidence major UK bank was helping fund sanctioned Iranian groups, whistleblower says (CNBC)
Arts + culture
۰ Farah Pahlavi, empress of Iran, is taking her story to Hollywood (Deadline)
۰ Unseen Persia: Thousands Of photographs leaked from Iranian archive (RFE/RL)