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Tehran, Feb 7, IRNA – President Hassan Rouhani urged the nation to take part in the upcoming elections in Iran under any circumstances.

Addressing a gathering on women, development and moderation here Sunday, the President regretted that the country was presently suffering from extremism from both ends.

He said extremism takes its roots not from violence but from minds.

The President further noted that many of the problems in the present world are also rooted in extremism because certain people know nothing but extremist practices.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, has reversed a ban on 1,500 candidates who had registered to run in Feb. 26 parliamentary elections.

State TV on Saturday said that says a list of approved candidates has been conveyed to Iran’s Interior Ministry.

The council, which is responsible for vetting candidates, had disqualified a large number of moderates, but it’s not clear how many of the approved candidates are considered to be reformists.

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani highlighted the significance of the upcoming elections given the situation in the Middle East region, saying that high turnout in the voting can further promote the country’s international position.

Speaking in an open session of the parliament on Wednesday, Larijani pointed to the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections due to be held later this month, saying that in the “disturbed security situation” of the region, holding competitive and glorious elections is of high importance.

A senior Iranian electoral official says 36 hopefuls in Tehran Province have gained approval from the Guardian Council, the country’s top supervisory and vetting body, to contest a seat in the Assembly of Experts elections, which are set to be held next month.

The grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic on Iran, has been excluded from contesting elections next month, his son said Tuesday.

Hassan Khomeini, a 43-year-old cleric with close ties to Iranian reformists, was not verified as having sufficient religious competence by the Guardian Council, his son Ahmad said on his Instagram account, despite “testimony from dozens of religious authorities”.

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran has called off plans to hold the two upcoming elections using electronic voting machines, Spokesman for Iran’s Guardian Council (GC) Nejatollah Ebrahimian announced.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday, Ebrahimian pointed to a meeting of the GC earlier in the day and said the issue of using electronic ballot boxes in the upcoming elections was raised in the session and the majority of the GC members voiced their opposition to the plan.

Nine women and 281 men. Such is the composition of the Iranian parliament. Rights activists believe this lopsided gender imbalance is one reason why so many discriminatory laws against women have been passed by the current legislature, in office since 2012. Ahead of the upcoming Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, a group of women's rights activists organized Changing the Male-Dominated Face of the Parliament, a campaign to address the dearth of women in the legislature.