Tehran, June 3 (Reporter) Es’haq Jahangiri, former Vice President of Iran in the Hassan Rouhani administration, on Monday officially registered to contest the upcoming Presidential election on June 28. He is among a host of notables who have entered the fray, including former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Ali Larijani. Jahangiri, who served as the Minister of Industries and Mines from 1997 to 2005 under Mohammad Khatami's presidency, has been a contentious figure in Iranian politics, with critics often pointing to his roles during periods marked by economic stagnation. As vice president and Rouhani's economic points man, he tried to mitigate the impact of US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration in 2018, but both the Rouhani administration and its successor, the Raisi government, failed to resolve a six-year economic crisis that has plagued the country, writes Iran International. In response to a question from reporters whether this would be the third Rouhani government, he quipped: "I am Es’haq Jahangiri!" The five-day registration period for potential candidates, which began on May 30, ended June 3. The final list of candidates will be published on June 11. The early elections were necessitated by the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19, which also claimed the lives of Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and six others. According to Iranian law, candidates must be aged between 40 and 75, hold at least a master's degree, and have four years of experience in state administration or related fields. All candidates must be vetted by the 12-member Constitutional Council. The Interior Ministry will release the names of the qualified candidates on June 11. Jahangiri is considered a moderate in the Islamic political system of Iran, and ‘reformists’ may support him if his candidacy is approved by the Guardian Council. He has been a presidential candidate before and has proven to be an effective debater. So far more than 40 former officials and politicians have registered as candidates. The conservative, 12-member Guardian Council will have one week to vet the candidates and officially approve a limited number of these individuals. The Council, which is under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s control, has rejected hundreds of candidates in parliamentary and presidential elections over the years and specially since 2020. This policy has directly contributed to the dominance of conservatives and hardliners both in the parliament and in the government. Before his ministerial role, Jahangiri was the governor of Isfahan Province and also served two terms in Parliament, where his tenure was not without criticism for his strong adherence to the policies of the ruling clerical elite. Among the other prominent figures who have registered include Saeed Jalili, former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mostafa Kavakebian, secretary general of the Mardomsalari (Democratic) Party, Masoud Pezeshkian, who is currently representing Tabriz, Osku, and Azarshahr electoral district in the Parliament, Vahid Haghanian, a former military commander, and Seyyed Ahmad Rasoulinejad, a representative of Damavand and Firozkoh electoral district. The Presidential campaigns will begin on June 12 and will run until June 27...////...