Tehran hard-liner council bans leading centrists from presidential race
Iran's Guardian Council disqualified all the major moderate contenders from the country's presidential election, paving the way for a one-sided race and an anticipated victory for hard-line judicial chief Ibrahim Raisi.
The lengths Iran's Guardian Council went to to squash the presidential hopes of top moderates shocked even many hard-liners in the Islamic Republic.
After nearly 10 days of deliberations, the 12-member body of ultraconservative clerics and lawyers came out with a list of seven candidates from among nearly 600 individuals who had registered. Ali Larijani, Iran's long-serving former parliament speaker, was not on the list.
