12 Facts About Ezzatollah Zarghami

Sayyid Ezzatollah Zarghami is an Iranian conservative politician and former minister of Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

At the time of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Ezzatollah Zarghami was a 20-year-old student in the civil engineering program at Amirkabir University.

Ezzatollah Zarghami took part in the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran, which ultimately lad to the severing of US-Iranian diplomatic relations.

Ezzatollah Zarghami eventually joined the newly formed IRGC as a radio anchor during the Iran-Iraq War.

Ezzatollah Zarghami eventually departed from the IRGC as the rank of general; he has cited his interest in politics as his motivation for leaving.

Ezzatollah Zarghami developed a close relationship with Ahmadinejad, which he has maintained; Ezzatollah Zarghami accompanied the then-president Ahmadinejad on his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, and the two often took phone calls with one another during the latter's term in office.

Ezzatollah Zarghami's tenure ended in 2014, after which he became more of an active presence on social media platforms; he held meeting with controversial Iranian politicians from the left and right, portraying himself as an "inclusive politician".

Ezzatollah Zarghami was criticized for allegedly trying to prevent Iranian President Hassan Rouhani from appearing on his network for a scheduled interview in February 2014.

On 15 March 2017, Ezzatollah Zarghami announced his candidacy for 2017 presidential election via his social media accounts.

Ezzatollah Zarghami said he "has felt the responsibility to fix the country's management structure on a macro scale", accepting "the invitation of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces".

Ezzatollah Zarghami who was speculated as a potential candidate since late 2014, denied the possibility of his own candidacy in November 2015.

Ezzatollah Zarghami announced his candidacy for the 2021 presidential election during an interview with Arman Newspaper, stating that "I have come to the conclusion that elections, in general, are a pain in the neck".