By bne Tehran bureau Iranian hardline presidential candidates Amir-Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi and Alireza Zakani announced their withdrawal from the contest ahead of the election amid tensions over consensus on a single nominee. Presidential elections in Iran are due to be held on 28 June, a year earlier than scheduled due to the unexpected death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. Six candidates have been running campaigns over the past weeks, including Qazizadeh, Zakani, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Saeed Jalili, who call themselves members of the ‘revolution front’, an informal gro…
