Ahmadinejad Eyes A Return To Office, Former Aide Says

A former adviser to Iran’s ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the controversial politician might consider running for president or accept the vice presidency in the future.

Ahmadinejad’s main goal is to run for the presidency in 2025, Abbas Amirifar stated, adding, “His perception, even his delusion, is that the government has failed to control inflation and high prices, so the system has no other way but to stand behind him” and back his candidacy.

According to Amirifar, if Ahmadinejad registers as a presidential candidate, the Guardian Council will definitely disqualify him in the vetting process because “the system no longer trusts him.”

In the case of disqualification, he may support some of his allies, such as Gholamhossein Elham and Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, during the presidential campaign and may even accept the vice-presidency in an attempt not to fade away from Iran’s political scene, Amirifar went on to say.

Amirifar, a cleric, was once recognized as Ahmadinejad’s exorcist. He also served as the head of the cultural council and the cultural advisor during Ahmadinejad’s 8-year presidency.

Amirifar later distanced himself from Ahmadinejad as the populist figure incurred the wrath of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and was removed from his inner circle.

Abdolreza Davari, another of Ahmadinejad’s former aides, claimed in December that Sadegh Mahsouli, the leader of Iran’s ultra-hardliner Paydari Party, is paving the way for the return of the former president to politics.

In an interview with the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency, Mahsouli praised Ahmadinejad, calling him “charismatic” and a person with “innate management capabilities” and a good command of many things, including the economy and diplomacy.

The Guardian Council barred Ahmadinejad twice from running in Iran’s presidential elections in 2017 and 2021.