Iranian reformist Mostafa Moin has decided to run for the presidency, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Moin will release a statement to formally declare his candidacy for the election, Issa Saharkhiz, head of publicity committee of Moin's election campaign headquarters, was quoted as saying.

Moin, former Higher Education minister and well-known pioneer reformist politician, was disqualified from standing in the race bythe country's hardline election and legislation supervisory body, the Guardians Council, on May 22.

In addition, Vice-President Mohsen Mehralizadeh was rejected to stand in the race due to his high-profile reformist politics.

But the Guardians Council's decision was retracted two days later under the order of Iran's Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Moin had previously said that he would reject to participating in the race in protest of the Guardian Council even though the bodyhad changed its mind.

Some of his supporters also suggested that Moin and the reformist camp boycott the election because they could not accept the qualification granted by undemocratic means.

Iran's ninth presidential elections will be held on June 17. Registration of candidates was held on May 10-14 and more than 1,000 people registered to participate in the elections.

The Guardians Council at first approved only six candidates -- former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former parliament head Mahdi Karroubi, former police chief Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, formerstate broadcasting body chief Ali Larijani, Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezaei.

Incumbent President Mohammad Khatami is excluded from the race because the law bans anyone from running for a third consecutive term.

Source: Xinhua