Khamenei's military advisor to run for the 2021 presidential election

Hossein Dehghan, military advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Republic, announced that he will run for the 2021 presidential election. He is the first person to officially announce his candidacy for the position.

According to ISNA news agency, in a video released on Tuesday, December 24, he said that he "definitely has no affiliation" with the reformist and fundamentalist factions.

Mr. Dehghan has emphasized that his goal in being in this arena is to shape and "rule rationality" in the country's decision-making space and make the Islamic Republic "strong and dear."

In recent months, news has been circulating about the possibility of Hossein Dehghan running for president.

In addition to Mr. Dehghan, the names of figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Ali Larijani, Parviz Fattah, Mehrdad Bazrpash, Mohsen Rezaei, and Saeed Mohammad, all of whom have military and IRGC backgrounds, also appear on the list of candidates for the 2021 presidential election.

Hossein Dehghan, who officially served in positions such as Commander of the IRGC Air Force and Deputy Chief of Staff of the IRGC from 1979 to 1989, rose to the position of Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Martyrs' Foundation during the Khatami administration.

He was also the head of the Martyr Foundation for a time during Ahmadinejad's administration, and then became the Minister of Defense in Hassan Rouhani's first administration.

Mr. Dehghan was appointed as "Advisor to the Supreme Commander in the Field of Defense Industries and Support for the Armed Forces" by Khamenei's decree in August 2017.

Source: Radio Farda