Mohaddeseh, a mother of four girls, was one of ­thousands of Iranians who flocked to see Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the president they elected in 2005 on a platform of social justice, during his visit last week to Bandar Abbas.

When the president visited the strategic port city two years ago as part of his first round of provincial tours, she gave him a letter ­complaining that her husband, a dock worker, had lost his job.