Iran's powerful election-vetting body, the Guardian Council, has approved seven candidates for the June 18 presidential elections.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the government body tasked with supervising the vote and vetting candidates, said only seven candidates out of 592 who had registered last week passed the week-long vetting process.
Abbas Ali Kodkhodaei, a spokesperson for the Guardian Council, said the list has been sent to the Interior Ministry, which will make an official announcement. He, however, did not specify the names of the approved candidates.
On Monday, the semi-official Fars News Agency published a leaked list of the approved candidates, which included judiciary chief Ebrahim Raeisi, former top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Central Bank AbdolNaser Hemmati, Deputy Parliament Speaker Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh, former vice president Mohsen Mehralizadeh, and former lawmaker Alireza Zakani.
The list, however, did not include the names of key reformist candidates, including Ishaq Jahangiri, the first deputy of President Hassan Rouhani.
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