TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is shaping up to be a strong political challenger to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, political analysts say.
Though he is a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander and has twice cracked down on student protests in the city, Ghalibaf is also seen as a pragmatist on relations with the West and is attracting support from a broad political spectrum in the country, The Boston Globe reported Monday.
Ghalibaf, 47, is seen as "cool" by younger Iranians who yearn for a more Western lifestyle despite his moves to stifle youth protests. But at the same time, the mayor retains enough hard-line credentials as an Iran-Iraq War veteran to appeal to Iran's supreme religious leaders, and is uniting the two groups, the newspaper said.
"For the first time, the far-leftists and the far-rightists are gathering together in party offices (to back Ghalibaf against Ahmadinejad)," a politician with direct knowledge of the meetings told the Globe. "They figure, if they want to make a change, they have to communicate."
Elections for Iranian president are set for June 12.
