Tehran mayor ends his bid for Iran presidency

TEHRAN mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf quit Iran’s presidential race yesterday and said he would back hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi in Friday’s vote.

Mr Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and police chief, was one of the main conservative challengers to President Hassan Rouhani, who seeks a second term.

“I should take an important decision to keep the unity of revolutionary forces,” Mr Qalibaf said in a statement. “I ask all my supporters around the country to use all their capacity to help my brother, Mr Ebrahim Raisi, win the election.” Raisi’s popularity has risen steadily in recent weeks and Mr Qalibaf ’s decision should give him a last-minute boost against Rouhani, a pragmatist who has eased Iran’s international isolation but failed to spur a sluggish economy.

Mr Qalibaf ’s allies had argued that he had more recognition in the capital Tehran and among young voters, and offered a more coherent economic plan than other conservative candidates.

But he was left with no option but to quit when main conservative parties and clerical bodies backed Mr Raisi, a jurist and cleric who studied at the feet of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.