Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 /Trend R. Zamanov/
Presidential hopeful Hassan Rouhani says ex-president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has self-sacrificed himself by entering the presidential race, the Aftab website reported.
"I became glad when I heard Ayatollah Hashemi entered the race. I welcome his decision. His move is sort of self-sacrifice in my opinion," Rouhani said.
"We will go on side by side. But at last, one of us will remain in the race," he noted.
Previously, Rohani had said that it was unlikely that former presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami run for president.
Rohani who's a member of the Expediency Council is seen as a close figure to both Rafsanjani and Khatami.
Rafsanjani had said he will participate in the upcoming presidential elections if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei consents.
Official registration of candidates for Iran's upcoming presidential elections ended on May 11.
From May 12-16, Iran's Guardian Council will look into the each candidate, and determine whether a candidate is eligible for participating.
If a candidate, for some reason is not eligible for participating in the elections according to the Guardian Council, then from May 17-21, that candidate will have time to protest the decision.
Iran's Interior Ministry will unveil the names of the candidates which are competitive enough to participate in the elections on May 22-23.
After the candidates have been determined, the pre-election campaigns would begin on May 24, and end on June 12.
Iran will hold the 11th presidential election on June 14, 2013.
The voters will select the successor of the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not able to participate in the elections for the third term according to the country's constitutional laws.
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election and the Guardian Council vets the candidates for qualifications.