Raisi, Larijani likely top candidates for Iran's presidential election
Iran's Guardian Council, an unelected body that gets to decide a final list of candidates, is winnowing down the number of candidates allowed to run in the June 18 election.
Iran’s Guardian Council held its second meeting May 19 to review the qualifications of 592 candidates who registered to run for president, spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaei said.
The Guardian Council consists of 12 members. Six members are clerics who are chosen directly by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while the other six members are nominated by the judiciary chief and approved by parliament. The judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, is one of the individuals who registered his name in the election. The council, which reviews and can veto any candidate running for president, has until next week to finish its work.
