ElBaradei poised to become Egypt's next president (Creative Commons).

Nobel laureate and former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Mohamed ElBaradei said he would run for president of Egypt if democratic reforms were executed, according to a MENA news agency report.

ElBaradei – a staunch critic of recently ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – announced his decision during an interview with ON TV, a private satellite channel. 

"When the candidacy applications are open, I have the intention to run," ElBaradei said during the ON TV interview.

This is not the first time that ElBaradei has considered running for president. He left his post at the IAEA in 2009, declaring he would challenge Mubarak in the 2011 elections. However, his campaign was met with little support.

Despite ElBaradei's decision, he remains rigid with regard to the conditions in which he would formally announce his candidacy.

"If there is no real democratic system where people will be represented in the presidency and in parliament, then I will not be part of the decor and I will remain a political activist," he said.

The announcement came amid the worst sectarian violence in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak in February. Thirteen people were killed and 140 injured earlier this week in clashes between Christians and Muslims, the Egyptian Health Ministry said.

Coptic groups in Egypt claim that they have increasingly become the target of radical Muslim groups since Mubarak’s departure.

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