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.

Iranian media has been full of speculation about which candidates would make the cut from the original list of 592 — including some 40 women — who registered their names at the Interior Ministry. The final number approved to run in the June 18 election could be as low as a dozen candidates. The council typically approves candidates who have a well-known work history and background.

The Tabnak News agency said the most likely names to be approved are judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili,  Vice President Eshag Jahangiri, former Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, former parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, former head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Ezatollah Zarghami, Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Welfare Mohammad Shariatmadari and central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati.