Iran's Ahmadinejad says will not make presidential comeback bid
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Tue Sep 27, 2016 | 8:55am EDT
Iran's Ahmadinejad says will not make presidential comeback bid
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin | DUBAI
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not run for president in next year's Iranian election, he said on Tuesday, bowing to the wishes of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who warned his candidacy would increase divisions in Iran.
"In carrying out the intentions of the leader of the revolution, I have no plans to take part in the elections next year," Ahmadinejad said in a letter to Khamenei, published on his website dolatebahar.com.
Ahmadinejad, a hardliner who increased Iran's international isolation by refusing to negotiate about its nuclear program, had not announced a re-election bid, but several speeches in recent months had prompted speculation of a political comeback.
By ruling himself out, he has removed one potentially serious challenger to President Hassan Rouhani's bid for a second term at May's election, although he is still likely to face a challenger opposed to his policy of detente with the West.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-politics-ahmadinejad-idUSKCN11X1CB