DUBAI: Former Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a prominent conservative, was among candidates registering on Friday for an early election next month following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, state media reported.
Larijani, an adviser and ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters that he would focus on fixing the economic problems facing Iranians and “resolving (US) sanctions,” while maintaining a strong defense.
Larijani was barred from standing in the 2021 presidential race by the clerical-led Guardian Council which vets candidates. But an Iranian insider told Reuters that Larijani decided to run after he was assured by top officials that he would not be disqualified by the hard-line council. No reason was given for the change.
Abdolnaser Hemmati, a former central bank governor, was among other hopefuls who registered on Friday. Hemmati, a low-key moderate, also ran in the 2021 presidential election.
Iran on Thursday started the registration of candidates for the June 28 election.
Once seen as a possible successor to Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate decision-maker, Raisi’s sudden death has triggered a race among hard-liners to influence the selection of the country’s next leader.
After a five-day registration period, the Guardian Council will vet candidates running for the presidency. Moderate politicians have accused the 12-member body of disqualifying rivals to hard-line candidates, who are expected to dominate the race.
Turnout may be hit by restricted choice on the ballot and rising discontent over an array of political, social and economic crises.
Within Iran’s complex mix of clerical rulers and elected officials, Khamenei has the final say on all state matters such as nuclear and foreign policies. But the elected president will be in charge of tackling worsening economic hardship.
Saeed Jalili, a former chief nuclear negotiator who two decades ago ran Khamenei’s office for four years, was the first heavyweight hard-liner to register for the election on Thursday.
Jalili had made an unsuccessful bid in 2013 for the presidency and withdrew from the 2021 race to support Raisi.
Parviz Fattah, a former Revolutionary Guards member who heads an investment fund linked to the leader, could also register as a candidate.
Interim President Mohammad Mokhber has also been mentioned in Iranian media as a possible candidate.
Several low-key moderate politicians are also likely to enter the race.
Former Iran parliament speaker registers for presidential vote after Raisi death
https://arab.news/j77kv
Former Iran parliament speaker registers for presidential vote after Raisi death
- Larijani told reporters that he would focus on fixing the economic problems facing Iranians
- He was barred from standing in the 2021 presidential race by the clerical-led Guardian Council which vets candidates
Israeli settlers burn tents, vehicles in West Bank village
- Videos show masked men rampaging into the Palestinian village of Susiya near Hebron and burning vehicles and property
- Similar attacks have become common as settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank
SUSIYA, West Bank: Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.
“They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere,” Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Israeli military said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with reports of “deliberate burnings of Palestinian property” and had opened an investigation into the incident.
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.
Attacks where masked settlers arrive at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack residents have become common, as Israeli settlers seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.
An Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a “fringe minority,” although Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.
The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.
Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At the end of 2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2 percent resulted in indictments. Israel’s far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to “bury” a Palestinian state.
Most world powers deem Israel’s settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.
Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.
