The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s head of economic and engineering arm resigned on Sunday, raising speculation that he will run in the upcoming presidential elections in June.
Head of the “Khatam al-Anbiya”, General Saeed Mohammad resigned from his post. The IRGC Commander in Chief Hossein Salami signed a decision to appoint Hossein Hooshi-Sadat as his successor.
Mohammad, 52, was also appointed as Salami’s special advisor.
In his resignation post on Twitter, Mohammad explained that he stepped down in an attempt to “protect the Kahatm al-Anbiya group in wake of the emergence of political and electoral rumors.”
In 2020, Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei had said that President Hassan Rouhani’s successor should be “young” and “revolutionary” in character, increasing speculations that Mohammed would be appointed in the upcoming election.
Hossein Dehghan, advisor to Khamenei and former minister of defense, and Ali Motahari, conservative governor and former deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, have so far submitted their nominations.