An Iranian newspaper says the grandson of Iran's late revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, has been disqualified from running in parliamentary elections.
The moderate Kargozaran newspaper says Iranian authorities vetoed the candidacy of 39-year-old Ali Eshraghi for the March 14 vote. It quotes Eshraghi as saying authorities asked his neighbors detailed questions about his personal life, including whether he prays daily, fasts, shaves or smokes. He says he then was informed of his disqualification by letter.
Eshraghi is quoted as saying he informed Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of his intention to run for parliament in the hope of securing the ayatollah's blessing.
To stand for election in Iran, candidates must meet certain government criteria, such as loyalty to Iran's Islamic system. Iranian authorities already have barred more than 2,000 mainly reformist parliamentary candidates during the vetting process.
Next month's vote is seen as a referendum on the policies of Iran's conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
