Ahmadinejad disqualified from presidential election as Iran approves 6 candidates

Iran's Guardian Council, which oversees elections and legislation, has disqualified Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and announced the names of six approved candidates for the snap presidential elections to be held later this month following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

The approved candidates are:

1. **Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf**: Hardline parliament speaker and former Revolutionary Guards commander.
2. **Saeed Jalili**: Conservative, former chief nuclear negotiator, and ran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office for four years.
3. **Alireza Zakani**: Tehran's conservative mayor.
4. **Masoud Pezeshkian**: Reformist lawmaker.
5. **Mostafa Pourmohammadi**: Hardliner and former interior minister.
6. **Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi**: Conservative politician.

The disqualification list includes former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a prominent conservative. Four women who registered for candidacy were also disqualified, continuing the trend since the 1979 Islamic revolution. 

The election, originally set for 2025, will now take place on June 28, with official campaigning starting immediately until 24 hours before the election day.