Iran has been in the throes of a presidential election campaign since Sunday, when the Guardian Council announced the final slate of candidates to run for the second-highest office in the land.
The Guardian Council, a panel of jurists and clerics appointed by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, decides who is allowed to contest in any of the country’s elections. Of the more than 80 current or former regime officials who applied to run, only six have been given the green light.
As expected, most of the approved candidates are conservative hardliners, with the top contenders being Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former national security adviser Saeed Jalili. Surprisingly however, Masoud Pezeshkian, the only reformist candidate in the shortlist, has quickly garnered support and now counts as a serious contender, even if he has a steep hill to climb.
A physician and an MP from the north-western city of Tabriz, Dr Pezeshkian has qualities that will surely appeal to many voters.
He has no serious corruption charges against him or his family. He can point to the fact that, as a heart surgeon, he would make a lot more money if he were to quit politics and return to private practice. He is also respected as a single parent who raised his children on his own after his wife died in an accident.
Dr Pezeshkian has political and administrative experience, having served under former president Mohammad Khatami as health minister more than two decades ago. Since 2008, he has stood out as a reformist MP in a conservative-dominated Parliament.
In the June 28 election, the soon-to-be septuagenarian will hope to get a sizeable number of votes from the country’s minority groups. He is of Azeri-Turkic heritage, as are about 15 million fellow Iranians, and was born to a Kurdish mother in the Kurdish-majority city of Mahabad and speaks the language.
The big question is, can he help revive Iran’s moribund reformist movement?
Eslahtalaban, as the movement is called, is nominally one of two informal schools that make up the official politics of the Islamic Republic (the other is Osoolgerayan, which consists of conservative “principlists”). But in recent years, the reformists have been driven out of almost every position of power, with the Guardian Council having barred them from most elections.
In 2009, Eslahtalaban held demonstrations to challenge the re-election of the then president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was a seminal moment in national politics, for that is when Mr Khamenei shed the public position of non-partisanship and openly backed Mr Ahmadinejad, a conservative. Iran’s security apparatus then violently cracked down on the movement, following which the main reformist parties were banned and several leaders were put on sham trials and sentenced to years in prison.
The movement has yet to recover from that blow. It hasn’t held the presidency since Mr Khatami stepped down in 2005 after two full terms, with its candidates repeatedly barred from running for office. What it has managed to do is survive and remain politically relevant. Rather than call for the overthrow of the regime, it has backed moderate candidates such as Hassan Rouhani, another two-term former president.
In recent years, however, the Guardian Council has outdone itself, primarily by disqualifying reformist candidates aiming to run for Parliament. This has spurred many within the movement to boycott the last two parliamentary elections.
In 2021, the Council barred the candidacy of all reformists except one, former central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, who wasn’t considered a strong candidate. Mr Hemmati, though, finished third and garnered 8.5 per cent of the vote. Interestingly, one of the candidates to have been barred then was Dr Pezeshkian.
That he has been allowed to run for president a mere two years later could be a ploy on the part of the regime's efforts to get out the vote.
The uncompetitive 2021 presidential election helped Mr Khamenei put his trusted candidate, Ebrahim Raisi, in power. But the regime’s support base narrowed down considerably and for the first time in a presidential election held since 1979, a majority of voters stayed home. Lacklustre turnout was also a theme during the 2020 and 2024 parliamentary elections, and something needed to be done about it.
It could be the case Mr Khamenei has calculated that Dr Pezeshkian is not strong enough to win the election but might generate enthusiasm among the reformist base enough to raise the overall voter turnout to above 50 per cent once again.
Dr Pezeshkian has already secured the resolute support of the Iranian Reformist Front, which brings together all the major reformist parties. IRF chairwoman Azar Mansouri said: “In this unequal scene, we will work for Dr Pezeshkian’s victory while also pursuing rights of all Iranians, including the right to a free, just and competitive elections.”
To his benefit, he will also be the main choice for centrists since the main moderate candidate, Ali Larijani, was barred from running.
The only other choice for centrist voters is Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who served as cabinet minister under both Mr Ahmadinejad and Mr Rouhani. But as a cleric who has long been associated with the regime’s judicial and security organs, his candidacy comes with baggage and few expect him to win.
Given that, Dr Pezeshkian has secured endorsements from Mr Rouhani’s Moderation and Development Party, as well as from key figures such as former vice president Eshaq Jahangiri and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
But endorsements from elders aren’t enough for Dr Pezeshkian to win. He needs to get out the vote, particularly by inspiring the mostly disillusioned citizenry. With hundreds of protesters having been killed during demonstrations in recent years, many Iranians have lost all hope in change.
The heart surgeon’s campaign has, so far, failed to tug at their heartstrings. In his first televised interview on Monday, he pledged to follow “the general policies set by the supreme leader” – not exactly a rousing call to those who need the motivation to cast their ballot.
Many of his supporters expressed their disappointment after watching the interview, including an IRF spokesperson who urged Dr Pezeshkian to “use a rhetoric in line with the expectations of the majority who are critical of the status quo”. He still has a chance to make amends in the upcoming televised debates.
Dr Pezeshkian’s chances of becoming the next president remain dim. Nonetheless, the very fact that he has been allowed to run has given some hope to Iran’s reformists. For a movement that’s been out of power for almost two decades, it’s not nothing.
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
