Economics
Iran Presidential Hopefuls Sign Up as Rouhani Defends Record
- Voting will deliver verdict on success of 2015 nuclear accord
- Next month’s election seen as critical for relations with West
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Iran began registering potential candidates for next month’s presidential election, kicking off a contest that will in large part be a verdict on incumbent Hassan Rouhani’s policy of engagement with the West.
More than 70 hopefuls, including one woman, signed up by midday at the Interior Ministry in Tehran, a process that runs until April 15. Absent on the first day were Rouhani and conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, a 56-year-old ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose surprise announcement to run last week jolted a race previously seen as a straightforward contest for the president.