Former moderate President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and top aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, entered Iran's presidential race on Saturday.

Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who served as president of Iran from 1989 to 1997, said Saturday that the reason behind his decision to run for the president is that "he wants to serve" the people and the country. He said he will provide details on his campaign later.

Hashemi-Rafsanjani was recently under pressure of some influential reformist and moderate politicians to re-run for the upcoming presidential race of the Islamic republic slated for June 14.

On Thursday, ex-Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said he will not partake in the coming election, adding that the time is not ripe for him to join the race.

However, Khatami expressed support for Hashemi-Rafsanjani if the latter decides to compete.

Also, some of the moderate hopefuls, including ex-nuclear negotiator Hassan Rouhani, said Saturday that they will consider withdrawing from the race in favor of Hashemi-Rafsanjani.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, political analyst Sadeq Zibakalam said that Rafsanjani will be a stronger contender than any other conservative candidates, provided that the Guardian Council approves his candidacy and his conservative competitor does not have Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's support.

In the past years, Hashemi-Rafsanjani, an influential cleric, have also been under pressure by hardline conservatives who supported Ahmadinejad against him in the 2005 presidential campaign.

In March, the daughter of Hashemi-Rafsanjani was released after six months in jail. Faezeh Hashemi was detained in September 2012 after she was charged, by the Iranian judiciary system, with spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic. She was also banned from political activities for five years.

Also in January, Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari- Dolatabadi announced that a 125-page indictment has been issued for Mehdi Hashemi, the son of Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who faces charges including inciting unrest after Iran's presidential election in 2009.

Hashemi-Rafsanjani, currently chairman of the Expediency Council of Iran, has recently put forward the idea of forming a " national unity government" which calls for a moderate government from both conservative and reformist camps to run the country.

Earlier, he said Iran is never after building nuclear weapons, stressing that every country, including the Islamic republic, has the right to take advantage of the benefits of peaceful nuclear energy.

The Western countries are making a grave mistake by raising suspicions about the nuclear activities of Iran in the international arena, he said.

Also on Saturday, Ahmadinejad's top aide and confidant Rahim- Mashaei said after registration for the presidential contest that he will follow Ahmadinejad's steps in all aspects if he wins the campaign.

That different classes of society are urging him to run and that he wants to create "political epic" are the motivations behind his candidacy for Iran's presidential election.

"Political epic" is a term which Iran's supreme leader used in his message on the occasion of the Iranian new year on March 21 to urge the country's officials to make efforts for political achievements domestically and internationally.

Ahmadinejad, who was accompanying Rahim-Mashaei during his registration ceremony on Saturday, told reporters that Rahim- Mashaei enjoys the strong points of the Iranian nation.

"Ahmadinejad is Rahim-Mashaei and Rahim-Mashaei is Ahmadinejad, " said the Iranian president enthusiastically.

Ahmadinejad plans to back his own candidate independently to push forward his own populist policy which envisages a nationalist- Islamist doctrine.

Through eight years of presidency, Ahmadinejad has mustered considerable influence in government institutions and Iran's countryside. He has earned loyal support from Iran's poor, less- educated rural population with his populist rhetoric, frequent travels to rural areas and controversial subsidy programs.

Ahmadinejad's endorsement can bolster Rahim-Mashaei's support from rural voters, but he still needs approval from the Guardian Council to run.

Rahim-Mashaei is detested by many senior clerics and conservative politicians who accuse him of leading a "deviant current" that puts Iranian nationalism on par with Islam.

Candidates for Iran's 11th presidential election began to register on Tuesday and ended on Saturday. Their qualifications will be studied in the two weeks to come.

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