Iran's former parliament speaker Ali-Akbar Nateq-Nouri has reportedly no plans to run for the upcoming presidential elections.
After Arman newspaper published a story about the possibility of Nateq-Nouri’s candidacy in the 11th presidential election, his office said on Sunday that the former lawmaker will not run in election which is scheduled to be held in June 2013.

This is while First Vice Speaker of Iran's Majlis Mohammad Reza Bahonar and a principalist  said on September 10 that Nateq-Nouri could be a suitable candidate for the next presidential election.

It is noteworthy that Head of Iran's Expediency Council and former Iranian president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has encouraged Nateq-Nouri to run for the elections as a candidate for National Consensus party.

The Iranian cleric also ran in the 1997 presidential election but was defeated by his rival, Seyyed Mohammad Khatami.

On the other hand, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei has announced his candidacy in the next Iranian presidential election. Rezaei also ran for the 2009 election where he came in third with 1.7 percent of the votes.