TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's hard-line Guardian Council (search) has rejected all reformists who registered to run in presidential elections, approving only six out of the 1,010 hopefuls, state television reported Sunday.
The approved candidates for the June 17 vote included powerful former President Hashemi Rafsanjani (search), seen as a front-runner in the race. The others were former police chief Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf (search), former radio and television chief Ali Larijani, Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former parliamentary speaker Mahdi Karroubi, former head of the elite Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezaei.
Former Culture Minister Mostafa Moin, who was the sole candidate of Iran's largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, was among those disqualified.
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