The eight candidates cleared by Iran’s vetting council to run for president are gathering for a televised debate.

According to Iranian media, the debate will focus on the country’s economy, foreign policy, and Iran’s talks with world powers over the country’s disputed nuclear program.

LIVE BLOG: RFE/RL’s Golnaz Esfandiari follows the debate (from around 11:30 GMT)

On May 21, the Guardians Council, which supervises the electoral process, approved eight of nearly 700 individuals who registered as candidates for the June 14 vote.

The approved candidates include: former parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel; Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili; former Vice President Mohsen Rezai; senior cleric and former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani; university professor Mohammad Reza Aref; Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf; former Telecommunication Minister Mohammad Gharazi; and former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati.

Those rejected included all of the roughly 30 women who applied, as well as former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Based on reporting by Press.tv and yjc.ir
RFE/RL