Khomeini's grandson says he won't beg to run in Iran's elections

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The grandson of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of Iran's Islamic republic, said Thursday he would never beg to be allowed to run in parliamentary elections, describing his exclusion from the upcoming contests as an insult to the family. Ali Eshraghi was one of the estimated 2,000 prospective candidates excluded from March's parliamentary elections by the hardline constitutional watchdog Guardian Council, on the grounds they were not sufficiently loyal to the principles of Khomeini's 1979 Islamic revolution. "I do not agree with activities of barring candidates, but neither do I protest it and I will not plead with them to change their decision," he told The Associated Press. The 39-year-old civil engineer, who bears a marked resemblance to his grandfather, described the decision as "an insult to Khomeini's family," which has stayed out of politics since his death.