Zakani made the announcement in a post on his X account on Thursday a day before the presidential elections.

He said that continuing the late President Ebrahim Raeisi’s path is more significant than his candidacy.

He asked two other hopefuls Mohammad Bagheri Ghalibaf and Saeid Jalili to agree on a single candidate to secure victory for the Revolution Front. 

Zakani became the second contender to quit the contest after Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi announced his withdrawal in a statement on Wednesday.

The candidates remaining in the race are Saeed Jalili, a former lead nuclear negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iranian Parliament speaker, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, former interior minister, and Masoud Pezeshkian, former health minister.

KI