The six candidates cleared by the constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, to contest the Iranian elections on 19 May are focusing their campaign on the state of the economy.

Hassan Rohani, the incumbent reformist president who is seeking a second four-year term, continues to remind the electorate of his administration’s achievements in taming inflation from over 40% before his election in 2013 to single digit figures and in boosting growth. Latest Central Bank of Iran (CBI) data put inflation at 9%, whilst the IMF says Iran’s economy grew at a brisk 6.5% last year. (CONTINUED - 1021 WORDS)