A former commander of the Revolutionary Guards of Iran, whose name is included in the US sanctions, today filed his candidacy for the presidential elections to be held at the end of June, state media reported.

Like other potential candidates, Mr Vahid Haganian he will await approval of his candidacy from the Guardian Council, a conservative-controlled body of 12 jurists that reviews all nominations for public office.

Little information has been made public about Haganian’s career in the ranks of the Guards, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army.

As does the president Ibrahim Raisi killed when his helicopter crashed on May 19, Haganian has been subject to US sanctions since 2019 because he is in the inner circle of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who the US accuses of repression.

Haganian said he is “absolutely aware of the country’s problems”. He pointed out that he developed close ties with key officials of state institutions “during the 45 years he served in the presidential administration and the office of the supreme leader.”

The June 28 presidential election was called after Raisi’s death.

The process of registering the candidates started on Thursday and ends on Monday.

Other candidates who have announced their candidacies include Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani and former MP Zohreh Eliyakhian, the first woman to enter the succession race.

Moderate former parliament speaker Ali Larijani, reformist former central bank governor Abdulnasser Hemati and ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili have also signed up.

The Guardian Council will announce the final list of candidates on June 11.

In the last presidential election in 2021, the Council had excluded several reformist and moderate candidates, most notably Ali Larijani.