President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is term-limited and ca n't run again . He has been in power for over 30 years, so he's not going to be around much longer anyway. Ahmadinejad has been grooming Mashaei to take over for years , and the two are like-minded in their nationalism and shared disdain for the clerical establishment , according to Geneive Abdo , a fellow at the Stimson Center 's Middle East Program and a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution . Ex-president and Ahmadinejad critic Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also registered to run . The Guardian Council vets candidates and decides who can run .
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is term-limited and ca n't run again . He has been in power for over 30 years, so he's not going to be around much longer anyway. Ex-president and Ahmadinejad critic Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also registered to run . The Guardian Council vets candidates and decides who can run .