The final list of candidates approved to run in Iran's June 14 presidential election was announced Tuesday, generating surprise and tension with the omission of a former president considered one of the founding members of the Islamic Republic.
In addition to two-term ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's top aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, was also disqualified from the ballot, although no immediate reason was given why. Both men were last-minute and somewhat controversial registrants, but their omission could cause a backlash from rivals of Iran's conservative establishment.
Conservatives including Tehran's current mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati and the country's lead nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, dominate the list of eight candidates approved by the Guardian Council.