Khatami ends bid for Iran presidency

TEHRAN, Iran – A leading Iranian moderate will drop out of the competition to challenge incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the country’s presidency, the candidate’s official Web site and several aides said Monday.

Former President Mohammad Khatami was the symbol during the late 1990s and early 2000s of Iran’s now-struggling reform movement. Aides said he officially will drop his bid to become president today.

One source quoted by Khatami’s official Yaari news site described his choice as a “moral decision above acquiring power.” Khatami emphasized that withdrawing from the running doesn’t mean he won’t participate in the election, the source confided to Yaari.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Khatami, who joined the race five weeks ago, made his decision after a lengthy meeting with Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a close ally and former prime minister. Mousavi announced last Tuesday that he would run against Ahmadinejad on a platform of economic pluralism.

Khatami had said he would back out and support Mousavi rather than compete against his friend and split the liberal vote. Another longtime Khatami ally, former parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, is also in the running.