Alireza Zakani

Alireza Zakani (Persian: علیرضا زاکانی, born 3 March 1966) is an Iranian conservative^[1] politician, current mayor of Tehran since 2021 and Special Representative of the President of Iran in Affairs of Management of Social Damages in Tehran City since 2023.

Alireza Zakani
علیرضا زاکانی
Zakani in 2021
Special Representative to the President for Affairs of Management of Social Damages in Tehran
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 August 2023
President	Ebrahim Raisi Mohammad Mokhber (acting) Masoud Pezeshkian
47th Mayor of Tehran
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 September 2021
Preceded by	Pirouz Hanachi
President of the Majlis Research Center
In office 22 July 2020 – 14 August 2021
Preceded by	Kazem Jalali
Succeeded by	Babak Negahdari
Member of the Parliament of Iran
In office 27 May 2020 – 14 August 2021 Serving with Ahmad Amirabadi and Mojtaba Zonnour
Constituency	Qom
Majority	190,422 (59.00%)
In office 28 May 2004 – 28 May 2016
Constituency	Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
Majority	327,818 (29.10%)
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-03) 3 March 1966 (age 59) Shahr-e Rey, Iran
Political party	Society of Pathseekers of the Islamic Revolution[1]
Other political affiliations	United Front of Principlists
Spouse	Masoumeh Pakatchi
Children	3
Alma mater	Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Signature
Website	Zakani's official website
Military service
Allegiance	Revolutionary Guards
Branch/service	Basij
Years of service	1979–2004
Unit	27th Mohammad Rasulullah Division[1]
Battles/wars	Iran–Iraq War (WIA)

He was a member of the Parliament of Iran from 2004 to 2016 and also from 2020 to 2021. He owns Jahan News website and Panjereh Weekly.^[2]

He announced runs for presidency in 2013 and 2017 but was disqualified by Guardian Council both times. He was a candidate for the 2021 presidential election, but withdrew in favour of Ebrahim Raisi. Zakani was also a candidate in the 2024 presidential election, before also withdrawing, calling on Saeed Jalili and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to come to a unity agreement on a single conservative candidate.

Life

Alireza Zakani was born on 3 March 1966 in the Khorasan Square neighborhood of Tehran and spent his childhood and adolescence in the same area.^[3][4] Zakani's grandfather (on his mother's side) is a resident of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province. His maternal grandfather was from Kashan and his paternal ancestors also lived in the northern villages of Tehran. His father was Hossein Zakani, one of the heroes of Tehran and the Shahr-e Rey region, who was responsible for holding Gholamreza Takhti's anniversary for 28 years.^[5]

Islamic Consultative Assembly

Zakani has been elected as the representative of the people of Qom city in the eleventh period of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament) since 2020, and he has the record as the head of the special committee in order to investigate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.^[6]

Margins

Exactly three days after Zakani was appointed mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Saleh Meftah by creating a campaign under the title "Request for annulment of the decree of the mayor of Tehran" sued him and asked the interior minister to overturn this illegal ruling.^[7][8]

Alireza Zakani and Mohammad Saleh Meftah