2021 and 2024 presidential disqualifications: leaked Guardian Council letters on family ties and dispute over vetting
Despite decades in top posts, Iran's Guardian Council barred Ali Larijani from the 2021 and 2024 presidential elections. Outlets reported that a leaked 2021 letter from Ahmad Jannati cited relatives living in the US and UK, a child's alleged role in parliamentary contracts and lifestyle issues, and the council stood by its ruling even after Ali Khamenei (@khamenei_fa) faulted 'incorrect reports'.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Guardian Council bars Larijani from the 2021 presidential race, prompting his brother Sadegh to protest and resign - Reuters, Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye reported that on May 25, 2021 the Guardian Council disqualified Larijani, the former three-term Speaker and Supreme Leader adviser seen as the chief rival to hardline judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi, approving only seven of nearly 600 hopefuls. His brother Sadegh Larijani, then a clerical member of the Guardian Council, publicly accused security agencies of swaying the vetting, called the decisions 'indefensible' and resigned from the council that September. Iran's Guardian Council disqualifies most presidential hopefuls
- Khamenei says barred candidates were 'wronged' by false family reports, but the Council refuses to reverse - The Guardian, Reuters and BBC Persian reported that on June 4, 2021 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (@khamenei_fa) said some rejected candidates and their families had been 'wronged' by 'incorrect reports' during vetting and asked authorities to make amends, remarks widely read as referring to Larijani and his daughter living in the US. The Guardian Council still did not reverse his disqualification, and when Larijani on June 12 demanded the public release of all reasons without cover-up, spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said the law did not allow it. لاریجانی: دلایل رد صلاحیتم را اعلام کنید؛ کدخدایی: قانونی برای این کار نداریم
- Leaked confidential letter from Ahmad Jannati lists seven reasons for disqualification, from US family ties to contracts - BBC Persian, Radio Farda and Iran International reported on December 18, 2021 that a leaked confidential letter signed by Guardian Council secretary Ahmad Jannati listed seven reasons for barring Larijani: political stances including on the 2009 unrest and backing disqualified figures, a child residing in the US, close relatives living and studying in Britain, family travel to the US and Europe, a child's alleged interference in parliamentary service and construction contracts, not observing a 'simple lifestyle', and sharing blame for the Rouhani administration's economic record. In a leaked reply, Larijani rejected the charges as false or pretexts. دلایل رد صلاحیت علی لاریجانی منتشر شد؛ از مسایل خانوادگی تا مواضع سیاسی
- Disqualified a second time in the June 2024 snap election, Larijani criticizes the 'non-transparent mechanism' - Reuters, BBC Persian and Radio Farda reported that after registering on May 31, 2024 for the snap presidential election following Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crash, Larijani was barred a second time by the Guardian Council on June 9, 2024 as it approved six candidates including Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf). BBC Persian and the Stimson Center reported that Larijani criticized the council's 'non-transparent mechanism', while analysts noted that a longtime insider who had presided over Parliament under the same vetting system had twice been excluded by it. Iran approves six candidates to run for president