TEHRAN: Women can not contest Iran’s June 14 presidential election, a member of the Islamic state’s electoral watchdog said in media reports yesterday, dashing the hopes of some 30 female candidates.

“The law prohibits women from being president,” said hard-line cleric and former judiciary chief Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, quoted by the Mehr news agency.

Yazdi is a prominent member of Iran’s Guardians Council, an unelected watchdog controlled by religious conservatives and appointed by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that is tasked mainly with vetting candidates.

The vetting process is designed to ensure candidates are faithful to the principles of the Islamic republic and its official religion.

A final list of hopefuls who can contest the June 14 poll is expected to be announced early next week. Some 686 people, including 30 women, registered their candidacy last week.

Yazdi said that under the constitution only men can run for the presidency, but did not specify if this was his interpretation or that of the council.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s constitutional watchdog says it may disqualify candidates in June presidential elections who seek full relations with the US. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, secretary of the Guardian Council that vets candidates, said yesterday on state radio that some nominees may hope that international sanctions over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program will end if the country restores ties with the US

“Indeed, we should laugh at this comment,” said Jannati. “If somebody has such a viewpoint, is it possible to approve him or to vote for him?”

The final list of candidates will be announced Tuesday.