Haddad Adel withdraws Iran presidential bid

A conservative hopeful for Iran's presidential elections pulled out of the race today, but did not endorse any of the four other conservatives standing in the vote, media reports said.
Ex-parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, seen close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not considered a frontrunner for the June 14 election.
"I announce my withdrawal from the presidential race to help promote the conservative victory," Haddad Adel said in a statement carried by local media.
"I hope that the conservatives win in the first round, but if it goes to the second round, the competition will be between two conservatives," he added.

Haddad Adel had entered the race as part of a coalition along with Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati.
In addition to the conservatives, the poll on Friday -- Iran's first since the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009 -- will also include two moderate candidates and a reformist.
According to local media, negotiations are underway between moderate Hassan Rowhani and reformist Mohammad Reza Aref to join tickets.