Khamenei’s Military Advisor Becomes Candidate for 2021 Presidential Election

Hossein Dehqan, military advisor to the leader of the Islamic Republic, announced that he will run as a candidate in the 2021 presidential election. He is the first to formally declare his candidacy for this position.

According to ISNA news agency, in a video released on Tuesday, December 25, he said that he has “no definite affiliation” to the main reformist and conservative factions.

Mr. Dehqan emphasized that his goal in entering this arena is to shape and “enforce rationality” in the country’s decision-making environment and to make the Islamic Republic “strong and mighty.”

In recent months, reports have been published about the possibility of Hossein Dehqan’s candidacy in the presidential election.

Besides Mr. Dehqan, names such as Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Ali Larijani, Parviz Fatah, Mehrdad Bazrpash, Mohsen Rezaei, and Saeed Mohammad, all of whom have military and Revolutionary Guard backgrounds, are also appearing on the list of candidates for the 2021 presidential election.

Hossein Dehqan, who officially served from 1979 to 1996 in positions such as commander of the Revolutionary Guards Air Force and deputy chief of the Revolutionary Guards Joint Staff, reached the Ministry of Defense and the presidency of the Martyrs Foundation under the Khatami government.

He also served as head of the Martyrs Foundation for a period under the Ahmadinejad government, and later became Minister of Defense during the first Hassan Rouhani administration.

Mr. Dehqan was appointed by Khamenei from August 2017 as “advisor to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the field of defense industries and support for the armed forces.”

Source: Radio Farda