Iran’s hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has registered to run in the presidential election scheduled for June 28.
This election follows the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month.
As per CNN reports, there is still a chance that Ahmadinejad could be barred from the race.
The Guardian Council, responsible for vetting all candidates, will announce the list of those qualified on June 11.
Ahmadinejad was first elected as Iran’s president in 2005 and left office in 2013 due to term limits.
Ahmadinejad, previously a member of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, was disqualified from the 2017 election by the Guardian Council.
This came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advised him not to run, citing it was "not in his interest and that of the country."
A notable rift between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei developed after Ahmadinejad called for checks on the Supreme Leader’s authority and advocated for "free" elections in 2018.
Moreover, Khamenei had supported Ahmadinejad after his re-election in 2009 sparked protests that resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of arrests.
The unrest was eventually quelled by security forces led by the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
