29 May, 2017
Karroubi asked all Iranians to take part in the election and to protect the democratic process by choosing their preferred candidate, but said: "I will vote for Rouhani of course".
The president has faced a significant challenge from conservatives because the landmark nuclear deal with world powers that he negotiated in 2015 has not triggered the economic recovery he predicted. "He was right, but which administration realized this national demand?"
Iran's presidential election may turn on turnout.
State television on Monday reported that Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf had dropped out of the race. It also suggests that Iran's election will be decided in the first round, which requires the victor to get over 50 percent of the total vote.
Raisi himself called Qalibaf's decision "revolutionary", according to conservative news agency Tasnim.
Qalibaf had been under pressure from fellow hard-liners to fall in behind Raisi.
Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani has defended his performance and accused some of his rivals of trying to move the country backward. "And the economy, as in most elections, appears to be the issue of most concern to voters", conclude the firm's analysts Hasnain Malik and Stuart Culverhouse.
Some conservatives had been unhappy that Qalibaf was standing again and risking a split in the anti-Rouhani vote.
Raisi has been touted as a frontrunner to succeed the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It was Khamenei who a year ago appointed Raisi, 56, to manage the Astan Quds Razavi, an Islamic charity that controls assets worth billions of dollars, as well as the Imam Reza shrine in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.
Iran is prone to daily quakes as it sits on many major fault lines.
A former police chief and member of the Revolutionary Guards, he has played on his tough-guy image in the past, but this year targeted his campaign against the wealthy elite, who he dubbed the "four-per-centers".
It is likely others will drop out to solidify support for other candidates, especially as one of them is serving as vice president in Rouhani's government.
