Presidential nomination campaign kicks off in Iran

A presidential nomination campaign has kicked off in Iran ahead of the June 14th election, according to the Interfax news agency.
Under the constitution, the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has served two four-year terms in office, has no right to run for a third term.

Observers believe Ahmadinejad will throw his weight behind the candidature of the former head of his staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

Iran’s two former Foreign Ministers, Ali Akbar Velayati and Manouchehr Mottaki, are seen as Mashaei’s most powerful rivals.
All presidential candidates should be approved by the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, a body that wields considerable power and reports to Ayatollah Khamenei.