Iran removes central bank head who is running for president

Dubai: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed the central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, one of the few moderates running in a June 18 presidential election, who said he accepted the decision that he must step aside at the bank in order to stand for president.

Hemmati, a technocrat appointed central bank governor in 2018, is one of seven candidates for president, with the others mostly staunch hardliners after a vetting body, the Guardian Council, barred leading reformists and conservatives from standing. Iranian media identified several possible candidates to succeed Hemmati at the bank, including Akbar Komeijani, a deputy governor of the bank, and Hamid Pourmohammadi, deputy head of the Budget and Planning Organisation. The bank could not immediately be reached for comment.