VOA - One of Iran's hardline presidential candidates dropped out of contention Monday, saying he wanted to boost the chances of his fellow conservatives. Gholam Ali Haddad Adel made the announcement in a statement carried on state-run television. The 68-year-old Adel is a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his daughter is married to the Supreme Leader's son.
There is also a chance the presidential field may narrow further from the seven remaining candidates. Some Iranian media outlets have reported that reformist Mohammad Reza Aref is in talks drop out of the race and back moderate cleric Hasan Rowhani.
There had been earlier reports the Guardian Council, the body that approves candidates, was debating whether to pull Rowhani's candidacy for allegedly revealing information about Tehran's nuclear program and because of some of the slogans his supporters were chanting during their rallies.
A Guardian Council spokesman Monday denied the reports but said the council has the right to review candidates right up until election day.
Iranians go to the polls June 14 to pick a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from a list of candidates approved by the Guardian Council of clerics and jurists. Ahmadinejad cannot run for a third term under Iran's constitution.
