DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has named the hard-line cleric running its judiciary and six others as approved candidates in its June 18 presidential election. The decision Tuesday barred prominent candidates allied with its current president amid tensions with the West over its tattered nuclear deal. The announcement carried by state television puts judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who is linked to mass executions in 1988, in the dominant position for the upcoming vote. Chief among those barred was former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who had been positioning himself as a pragmatic candidate who would back the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran approves 7 for presidential vote, bars Rouhani allies
