Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has dismissed reports that he has endorsed presidential hopeful Mohsen Rezaei ahead of the upcoming election, Press TV reported.
Amid intense competition among Iranian presidential hopefuls to collect support ahead of the June 12 election, Larijani rejected a report by a site close to Rezaei indicating that he had thrown his weight behind the presidential contender, Farsnews agency reported.
Larijani announced in a Thursday fax that although he kept 'respect' for all presidential candidates he "has not backed any candidate", alluding to recent reports of his support for Rezaei, the former IRGC chief.
A report by Entekhab website earlier cited a site close to Rezaei that Larijani had advocated Rezaei's management policies in the economic sector, endorsing him ahead of the election.
This is not the first time that the Majlis Speaker rejects reports of taking sides in the election.
Earlier in April, Hassan Zamani, an advisor to Larijani, said that the Speaker would not back any specific candidate in the upcoming election.
Zamani's comments were in reaction to reports that Larijani had thrown his weight behind Ahmadinejad in a meeting with pro-Ahmadinejad lawmakers, but had refused to make an announcement to the media.
The Majlis Speaker has also called on MPs to refrain from openly supporting candidates in the election.
Rezaei will be competing against three rivals in the June election, namely President Ahmadinejad, last prime minister Mir-Hossein Moussavi and former Majlis speaker Mehdi Karroubi.
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