Iran’s principlist presidential hopeful Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel says the Coalition of Three does not endorse the political views of rival Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, currently the chairman of the Expediency Council.
Haddad-Adel, an Iranian lawmaker, is a member of the Coalition of Three, which also includes Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Tehran mayor, and Ali Akbar Velayati, the top advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
During a question and answer session with the students of Amir Kabir University in Tehran on Sunday, Haddad-Adel said it is true that he and the other two members of the coalition have, at times, had different views on the way Rafsanjani has been leading his political life.
Nevertheless, the principlist hopeful said, the coalition was formed because of their fundamental objections to Rafsanjani’s political vision.
Haddad-Adel also said the coalition plans to pick its frontrunner for the election once the Guardian Council, the top electoral supervisory body, releases its final list of approved hopefuls.
A total of 686 individuals registered from May 7 to 11 for the Islamic Republic’s 11th presidential election, which will be held on June 14. The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election.
Guardian Council Spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said earlier that the final list of candidates will be released by May 21.
Official campaigning will start two days after the Council releases its final list of approved candidates.