Tehran (CNN) -- Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will challenge the disqualification of his top aide from next month's presidential election, Iran's state-run Press TV reported Wednesday. Only eight candidates have been approved to run for office from more than 680 candidates who had registered for the June 14 election. Read more: Ahmadinejad shows no signs of going quietly Along with Ahmadinejad's aide, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, the name of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was also notably absent from the list of approved nominees, as was that of former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. The vetting process was carried out by Iran's Guardian Council, the country's most influential clerical body, which operates under the watchful eyes of Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei.
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NEW: Official campaigning by the 8 approved presidential candidates will start on Friday
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he will contest the disqualification of his top aide
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Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is also among those disqualified
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Iran's Guardian Council decides who can stand in the elections on June 14
The head of @placeholder's election campaign office said the former president will not object to the Guardian Council's decision, Press TV reported.