Who is who among Iran's presidential candidates: individuals and coalitions

Trend

About 25 days remain until the official registration for the 11th presidential elections in Iran.

The eleventh election of the President of Iran is scheduled to be held on 14 June 2013 to elect the seventh President, successor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is barred from standing for a third term.

Thus far, there are 17 political figures, who have expressed their will to participate in the upcoming presidential elections, Iranian media outlets reported.

Most of these 17 candidates are, in one way or another, connected to former (Mohammad Khatami, Ali Akbar Rafsanjani) or current (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) presidents. Others are MPs, members of Iran's Expediency Council, or former military commanders.

The list of 17 candidates includes two coalitions. One is the "Triple Alliance" of Gulamali Haddad Adil (former speaker of the Iranian parliament), Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (former commander of the Iranian police and current Mayor of Tehran), and Ali Akbar Velayati (Supreme Leader's Advisor for International Affairs).

The second 5-member coalition, includes Manouchehr Mottaki (Former Foreign Minister of Ahmadinejad's government), Mustafa Pourmohammadi (Head of the main inspection organization of Iran), Mohammad Reza Bahonar (Deputy Speaker of Iranian Parliament), Yahya Ali Ishaq (Head of Iran's Trade Commerce), and Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard (MP, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran).

The remaining 9 candidates despite being independent, also have a lot of common, since many of them have been working together for some 20 years in country's political and economic circles, and they share common views, especially regarding Iran's current problems.

Nothing is certain until the Guardian Council of Iran determines and officially approves the candidates. Right now, the list of candidates for the upcoming elections is as follows:

Gulamali Haddad Adil - former speaker of the Iranian parliament.

Ali Akbar Velayati - Supreme Leader's Advisor for International Affairs.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf - former commander of the Iranian police and current Mayor of Tehran.

Alireza Zakani - MP.

Manouchehr Mottaki - Former Foreign Minister of Ahmadinejad's government.

Mohammad Reza Bahonar - Deputy Speaker of Iranian Parliament.

Yahya Ali Ishaq - Head of Iran's Trade Commerce.

Mohsen Rezaee - former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the secretary of the Expediency Council of Iran.

Ali Fellahiyan - Former Security Minister under President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Mohammed Saidikiya - represented the cabined during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Hassan Rouhani - Head of the Center for Strategic Research of Iran's Expediency Council and former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Mustafa Purmuhammedi - Head of the main inspection organization of Iran.

Muhammedrza Arif - The first deputy of former President Mohammad Khatami.

Mohammad Shariatmadari - Former Minister of Trade under Mohammed Khatami.

Mostafa Kavakibian - Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Iran.

Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard - MP, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran.

Hassan Sobhani - former MP of Iranian parliament.

Head of the Iranian presidential office Isfandiyar Rahim Mashaei is seen by the Iranian media as a potential successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Along with Mashaei, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, General Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, Former Energy Minister Parviz Fattah, Former Health Minister Kamran Bagiri Lankarani and ex-MP Hassan Sobhani are also included in the list of Ahmadinejad's possible successors.

Iran's ex president Mohammad Khatami has not yet announced whether he will be participating in the upcoming elections, yet his supporters urge him to do so.