The former commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards corps on Tuesday denied press reports that he had decided to run for president in next year's elections.
Mohsen Rezaie, who had been tipped by a conservative newspaper earlier in the month to run in the June polls, said in a press release that he had "not taken a final decision on the matter."
In the statement, which included excerpts from a speech he gave to army officers, he gave his support to President Mohammad Khatami, who has yet to announce if he will seek election to a second term.
"I think President Khatami will be the best candidate, especially if he reshuffles his cabinet and puts forward some clearer plans to improve the economy," said Rezaie, an influential leader close to conservatives here.
Rezaie is number two on the Expediency Council, which arbitrates disputes between parliament and another conservative-led oversight body, behind Khatami's predecessor, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The only hopeful so far to publicly announce a run for election in June is Farah Khosravi, a conservative who is set to become the first female presidential candidate in Iran's history -- TEHRAN (AFP)
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