However, the possible direction of the country going forward becomes clear from the list of approved candidates.

The configuration of the six candidates on the ballot, consisting of a dozen jurists, half appointed by the Supreme Leader and half by the Majles (parliament), made its choice clear after the Guardian Council vetted and approved the various candidates' nominations. Most are conservatives of various ideologies, which are largely fundamentalist.

The late President Raisi, who succeeded moderate Hassan Rouhani in 2021, was a hard-liner. His accession in 2021 represents the last nearly three decades of alternating between moderate reformist and conservative hardline holders of the country's second most powerful post – Mohammad Khatami (reformist, 1997–2005), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (populist conservative, 2005–13 ), and then, Rouhani (reformist, 2013–21), and Raisi (2021–24).However, many reformist candidates were not approved to run in the 2021 elections, leading to the lowest turnout ever in Iranian presidential elections – barely 48.5 percent.

This time the situation is not much different from the previous elections.

Saeed Jalili, the former hard-line chief nuclear negotiator (2007–13) and candidate for the 2013 election – when he lost to Rouhani – and in 2021 when he withdrew in favor of Raisi, have made the cut, but his More moderate predecessor Ali Larijani was not allowed to run again as of 2021. Larijani's successor as Majles speaker, former mayor of Tehran and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, is also on the list, as well as Tehran His successor as mayor and former Majles member Alireza Zakani, who was not cleared to run, is also on the list. in 2013 and 2017, but got approval for 2021, before being dropped in favor of Raisi.

Vice President and head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, an ENT surgeon by profession, and Mustafa Pourmohammadi, former minister of interior (2005–08) and justice (2013–2017), are also approved candidates.They are also conservative.

Majles member and cardiac surgeon Massoud Pezeshkian, who served as a minister in the Khatami regime, is the only candidate seen as a reformist. However, he is an ethnic Azeri which may affect his chances of gaining widespread support across the country. His presence looks set to attract reformist voters to boost turnout, including "perennial presidential candidate" and longtime IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai, who was sanctioned for the 2005 presidential election – although He later withdrew – but contested the 2009, 2013 and 2021 elections – with his best performance in the last where he finished second., this time is not standing.

Nor did Vice President Mohammad Mokhbar, who is currently acting president, with reports claiming that he and Rezaei met with Qalibaf and decided to support him.

Apart from Larijani, other prominent candidates who were barred from running were former President Ahmadinejad – known for having some disagreements with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei towards the end of his term and later – and reformist candidate Eshaq Jahangiri. , who served as vice president under Rouhani. and as a minister under Khatami. However, it should be noted that Jahangiri, seen as the best choice of the reformists, was also clear about not coming against the regime.

With the ground being set, the main contest seems to be between Jalili, who is close to Supreme Leader Khamenei and the IRGC, who may weigh in his favor with a strong establishment, and Qalibaf, who is also close to the Supreme Leader and Bear. It is believed.An IRGC lineage himself.

Jalili's victory, possible because reformist voters may seek re-election to counter the established regime's bid to establish the legitimacy of the electoral process, would have a decisive impact on his own supporters, meaning President Raisi's policies. Will have to continue. , with whom he was very close and is thought to have exerted significant influence on many of his decisions. If Qalibaf, considered a moderate conservative, wins, the situation going forward will differ only in degree, with no major changes in domestic or foreign policies. Changes will not be indicated.

However, even if any of them win, or in this case, most of the others, one major challenge will still remain.President Raisi was expected to run again in the 2025 elections, and, as a high-ranking cleric, he was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Khamenei.

Jalili, a soldier-turned-academician and politician, and Qalibaf, a pilot-turned-politician, do not have the religious qualifications for the country's top post. Nor do the other candidates presumably save Pourmohammadi.