Iran’s former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad surprised everyone April 12 by registering to run in the May 19 presidential election, a move that could be interpreted as directly defying Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had publicly “advised” him last autumn not to run in the race.
When it comes to politics, Ahmadinejad is a clever operator. The hard-line politician has confused and misled everyone in recent months by indicating that he didn’t intend to run in the election, particularly as he encouraged his former vice president, Hamid Baghaei, to announce his candidacy for the presidency.
