THAT'S THE BIG STEP THAT ENDING THE WAR WILL MAKE POSSIBLE:

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday he had asked the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to ensure greater "competition" in June elections after many prominent hopefuls were barred from running.

"The heart of elections is competition. If you take that away it becomes a corpse," Rouhani said at a televised cabinet meeting.

"I sent a letter to the supreme leader yesterday on what I had in mind and on whether he can help with this."

Iran's candidate-vetting Guardian Council on Tuesday approved seven hopefuls to run in the June 18 poll to succeed Rouhani, a moderate who under the constitution must step down after his second consecutive term.

The body disqualified moderate conservative Ali Larijani, the long-time parliament speaker and a Rouhani ally, as well as his first vice president, Eshaq Jhangiri, among other well-known names.

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