A leading proreform daily newspaper in Tehran says there is very little chance for a reformist candidate to win the presidential election even if the Guardian Council that vets the candidates allows a reformist to run.

The daily, Sazandegi, put some 10 tough questions to former deputy interior minister Mostafa Tajzadeh, the controversial reformist figure, who says he might run for president. The paper concluded that his answers are paradoxical, while social media users seem to agree that appearing and campaigning on the audio chat application Clubhouse has humiliated both reformist and hardline candidates. 

The newspaper further questioned Tajzadeh's political affiliation as a reformist, and argued that he might be an independent candidate as none of the reformist parties or the umbrella organization that makes policy for the reform camp have expressed support for his candidacy.

The daily also claimed that former reformist President Mohammad Khatami who is the godfather of Iran's reformists has not given his blessing to Tajzadeh's candidacy. Sazandegi further opined that Tajzadeh who had boycotted the February 2020 parliamentary election will also boycott the presidential election, and that the reason for his candidacy is that he knows the Guardian Council will disqualify him and then he can justify boycotting the vote.

At the same time, General Hossein Dehghan, one of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s military advisers, also held a session on Clubhouse as a presidential candidate. Social media users in Iran generally reacted negatively, saying that attracting just a few hundred participants, with paid applauders, and moderators with questionable reputation was counterproductive for the candidate.

Dehghan was in a chatroom with nearly 3,000 participants Wednesday night. The chatroom was strictly moderated by a former journalist who works with the Rouhani administration as a media officer and is known for not allowing participants the democratic right to ask questions, and turning the Q&A into a one-sided conversation.

This was what happened throughout the dialogue with Dehghan and in most parts of the conversation with Tajzadeh. As some social media users pointed out, the two candidates were also to be blamed for the annoying nature of the talk as they failed to say who their running mates and future vice presidents are, as presidential candidates.

Dehghan, for instance, said he will stand by his promises. However, he was so secretive about his plans and strategy that he hardly made any promises. As a result, hundreds of listeners, gradually moved out of the chatroom after just half an hour.

A user wrote about Dehghan's presence on Clubhouse, "He was really a weak contestant who gave very general answers to all the questions. And he had a potential to get agitated and angered. His analysis about the situation was utterly wrong and showed that he did not know where he was headed. With not even one clear answer about his team, he was not transparent at all."  

Tajzadeh, on the other hand, said he wanted to change the constitution to give himself as president more powers, but he was not able to say how. A political establishment that does not allow referenda, cannot put such a change to vote. Meanwhile, the statement brought a shower of questions from those who asked to know why he wanted to be Iran’s president if he believed the position cannot give him the authority to bring about reforms