Iran’s Guardian Council on April 20 agreed on six individuals to be allowed to compete in the May 19 presidential elections. The absence of one name caught many by surprise: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The late-night announcement ended speculations about whether the former two-term president (2005-2013) would be allowed to run.

The Guardian Council made its decision amid harsh criticisms of Ahmadinejad’s record, performance in office and even personal manner by his opponents.

Al-Monitor spoke with academic, longtime journalist and former conservative political strategist Amir Mohebbian about the events surrounding the former president’s disqualification. He said, “The Guardian Council did not disqualify Ahmadinejad but rather did not approve of his qualifications to stand in the 2017 presidential elections. There is a subtle nuance here.”

Right after Ahmadinejad’s registration to run on April 12, he was targeted by a vast boycott and massive pressure by some ordinary citizens, commentators, media outlets and online communities — particularly on channels of the popular messaging app Telegram. Strikingly, the campaign against Ahmadinejad originated mostly from the Principlist camp rather than rival moderates-Reformists.