Supporters of Iran's President-Elect Masoud Pezeshkian, with good intentions, have recently caused trouble for him, prompting him to publicly affirm that he remains the same person and that his election has not changed his self-perception.
Some of his supporters have been attempting to elevate his status above his predecessors by highlighting that he is the first and only president in the world who is both a medical doctor and a fully accredited university professor.
Iranian fact checkers at home and around the world maintained that this a myth. Foreign-based fact-checking group FactNameh refuted the claim as a flat lie, adding that both at the present time and in the past many heads of state have or had equal or higher academic credentials than Pezeshkian.
According to FactNameh, "These include former German Chancellor Angela Merkel who had a Ph.D. in Physics, former Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai who was a doctor of cultural anthropology, Cameroon's former Prime Minister Joseph Ngute who had a Ph.D. in Law, the Prime Minister of Congo Anatole Collinet Makosso who has a Ph.D. in law, former Albanian President Alfred Moisiuwho was a doctor of military sciences, and Jordanian Prime Minister Bishar Khasawneh who is a doctor of philosophy of law."
FactNameh added that many of those heads of state are perhaps much better educated than Pezeshkian with high recognitions as graduates of law, political scienceand economics.
Meanwhile, Iran's first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, held a doctorate in economics, and former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a Ph.D. in transportation and traffic engineering.
At the same time, an initiative to introduce Pezeshkian as a deeply religious individual backfired as he went to see preacher Hossein Ansarian. Ansarian gave the president-elect his own black handkerchief and rosary. However, Pezeshkian's supporters were displeased that he visited Ansarian, one of the few clerics permitted to enter Khamenei's residence and recount the tragedy of Karbala to move the Supreme Leader to tears.
To add a dramatic flair to the session, Ansarian told Pezeshkian that he wanted the handkerchief to be buried with him when he dies, as he had shed many tears into it for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the third Imam of the Shiites.
In another dramatic show, some of Pezeshkian's supporters doctored a video of his arrival at Ansarian's mosque, creating a slow-motion version accompanied by epic music, making it appear as though he was performing an extraordinary act by visiting a mosque during the mourning month of Muharram. Social media users harshly criticized Pezeshkian for this utterly sensational yet otherwise banal video.
Iranian journalist Maryam Shokrani wrote in a tweet that it was ridiculous that some of Pezeshkian's supporters expected to behave like one of those traditional landlords who bossed citizens around. She reminded that in other countries, even the biggest officials are the people's servants, not the other war round.
Meanwhile, as Pezeshkian was caught offhand on live TV while a crowd chanted slogans in support of Green Movement leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest since 2011. The president-elect was suddenly speechless and finally he was saved by the state TV cutting off the sound, otherwise, whatever he said could turn out to be controversial or worse.
The new president seems to need some training on how to diplomatically handle such situations, as appearing in large crowds could expose him to unexpected challenges. His supporters defended him by saying he did not comment on the slogans because Mousavi did not support him in the election. However, expecting support from an elderly man who has been under house arrest for so long is unrealistic. This incident has already tarnished Pezeshkian's reputation as someone who promised to uphold the rights of all citizens.