Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran on Sunday announced the six candidates, mostly conservatives, approved for the June 28 election to replace president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash.

The candidates announced by the interior ministry were selected from 80 registered hopefuls by the Guardian Council, which oversees elections in the Islamic republic.

Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi hosted his Turkish counterpart Süleyman Soylu in the capital Tehran on Oct. 20. 

In a statement following a bilateral meeting, Soylu wished Vahidi all the best in his new office.

"To date, we have had very successful cooperation on various issues," he said, adding many problems were solved.

Iran's state television reported on May 12 that the country's former firebrand president will run again for office in upcoming elections in June.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reportedly marched accompanied by supporters to a registration center at the Interior Ministry where he filled out registration forms.

A former Iranian vice president and chief-of-staff of hardline ex-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was arrested on March 17, the website of the Tehran prosecutor said.

Reports are coming out of Tehran that ex-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been arrested for contributing to widespread unrest in the country that has seen at least 22 killed.

The world continues to worry about the situation in Iran, a week after the start of violent protests, BNT reports. 13 people have so far died in clashes between demonstrators and police.

By Aykan Erdemir & Merve Tahiroglu *

Iran's new communications minister said Tuesday that negotiations were underway with Twitter to unblock the service, which has been banned for years despite being used even by the country's supreme leader, according to The Jakarta Post.onl

"(Twitter) has announced that it is prepared to negotiate to resolve problems," Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi told the Iran daily newspaper.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani appointed two women vice-presidents on Aug. 9, but made no changes to an all-male list of cabinet ministers criticized by reformists for its lack of female representation.

In a country where literary censorship is official government policy, the fact that Iran has opened what could be the world’s biggest bookstore is all the more astonishing.

Located in the Abbasabad Hills in the north-east of the Iranian capital, the Tehran Book Garden was officially opened in July.