Iranian lawmakers re-elected former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Tuesday as the speaker of parliament.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a parliamentary candidate, casts his vote at a mosque in downtown Tehran, Iran February 21, 2020. Hamed Malekpour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iranian lawmakers re-elected former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Tuesday as the speaker of parliament, state television reported, ending speculation that he might stand as a candidate for president next month.
State TV said 198 lawmakers, out of 287, voted for Qalibaf, who previously ran unsuccessfully in two presidential races and dropped out of a third to avoid splitting the hardline vote.
Qalibaf revived his political ambitions by running for parliament in 2020.
An early presidential election is set for June 28 following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.
The registration for presidential candidates will start on Thursday. Qalibaf had been touted as a potential candidate in the presidential race by insiders and Iranian state media.
Writing by Parisa Hafezi
Iran's top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar's prime minister on a potential deal with the U.S. to end the three-month-old war, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday, after Washington and Tehran played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday that conclusions have been reached on many topics discussed in a potential 14-point memorandum of understanding, but this does not mean a deal to end the Middle East war is imminent.
In a post published Monday on Truth Social, President Donald Trump issued what amounts to a sweeping diplomatic ultimatum to the Arab and Muslim world: normalise with Israel through the Abraham Accords, or forfeit any role in the Iran agreement he is working to finalise.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.