June 18 election will see voters pick a new candidate replacing term-limited president; 7 aspirants focus their attention on departing leader in 3-hour televised debate

Decision comes after Khamenei admits 'some were wronged in vetting process' after just 7 of 600 candidates approved to run in race many say is a foregone conclusion

Iranian president asks supreme leader Khamenei to intervene, warning, 'The heart of elections is competition. If you take that away it becomes a corpse'

Top-level panel of clerics and jurists disqualifies vast majority of would-be candidates who registered for June election to succeed Hassan Rouhani

International Atomic Energy Agency chief to give statement as Tehran may have already deleted 3 months of footage from enrichment facilities across the country

Iran's president claims 'big step' has been taken to revive 2015 nuclear pact, with solutions to issue of sanctions; other parties to talks indicate there is still a way to go

Ali Larijani is first high-profile candidate to potentially back policies of outgoing administration; Ebrahim Raisi is an ultraconservative who opposed Rouhani

Firebrand former leader, who threatened to build nuclear bomb during his term but has since become a critic of Tehran's establishment, was barred from running in 2017

Iran's FM is facing intense criticism for comments about the IRGC and Soleimani, but analysts say it's the ideal way to get his message to the public

Rouhani fires head of think tank that recorded hours-long interview in which Iran's FM described sharp divides within the regime