TEHRAN - Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Thursday he had still not decided whether to run for election again, after suggesting earlier this week he would be a candidate.
"I have no desire to stand; I wish that someone else would take his responsibility, but if I see things are not going the way I want, I will stand," he told the state news agency IRNA.
"We must wait a bit," added Rafsanjani, who was president from 1989 to 1997 and remains a senior figure in the regime.
Rafsanjani, who for months has been talking about a possible new bid, said Monday: "The issue of the presidency is my current preoccupation, and although I would like somebody else to take this responsibility, I think I must take this bitter medicine.
Rafsanjani has been seen as the leading contender in the race to replace incumbent reformist Mohammad Khatami, who is nearing the end of his second term in office.
The 70-year-old former president heads the Expediency Council, Iran's top political arbitration body.
04/28/2005 13:22 GMT