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Iran's President Hassan Rouhani registered Friday to run in the upcoming presidential elections in May.

Associated Press journalists watched as Rouhani, 68, registered on the fourth day of the allocated period which ends on Saturday evening. In 2013, he had registered on the first day.

The upcoming vote will be seen, among other things, as a referendum on the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, under which Iran agreed to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Running on the platform "More freedom and peace," Rouhani vowed to remain loyal to the 2016 land nuclear deal, and urged all Iranians to vote.

"From now on, protecting the deal is one of the most important economic and political issues," said Rouhani.

He said he would continue his past promise to "salvage the economy" and "engage constructively" with the world. "We do not withdraw," said Rouhani.

Rouhani also mentioned the giant joint gas field, the North Field, Iran will be developing with Qatar.

Earlier on Wednesday former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his close ally Hamid Baghaei also filed to run for the presidency.

Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line cleric close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has announced plans to run promising to fight poverty and corruption.

Registration will remain open until Saturday, and any Iranian national can apply. The applicants will then be vetted by the Guardian Council, a clerical body that will announce a final list of candidates by April 27. The council normally does not approve dissidents or women.

The nuclear deal was engineered by the Rouhani administration and went into effect in 2016. Iran has since resumed selling oil and signed deals worth billions of dollars to replace its aging commercial airline inventory.

Critics of the deal, however, complain that economic benefits have yet to trickle down to average Iranians.

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Iran's president resisters to run in May elections - ABC News

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Russia and Iran Unite in Support of Syria's Assad Wall Street Journal (subscription) MOSCOWForeign ministers from Russia, Syria and Iran presented a unified front in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, saying the U.S. and international accusations of a chemical strike by the regime in Damascus were fabrications.

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Russia and Iran Unite in Support of Syria's Assad - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

News & Observer

Airplane maker ATR signs $536M, 20-aircraft deal with Iran News & Observer European airplane manufacturer ATR said Thursday it sealed a $536-million sale with Iran Air for at least 20 aircraft, the latest aviation firm to strike a deal following Iran's nuclear accord with world powers. ATR spokesman David Vargas confirmed the ... Airbus Joint Venture Seals Iran Air Plane OrderWall Street Journal (subscription) Iran Air Signs $536 Million Order for 20 ATR Turboprop AircraftBloomberg Iran Air finally seals ATR 72-600 dealFlightglobal all 110 news articles »

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Airplane maker ATR signs $536M, 20-aircraft deal with Iran - News & Observer

Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi registers at Iran's Interior Ministry on April 14, 2017 for the 12th presidential election. (Photo by Tasnim News Agency)

Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, the current custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (PBUH) in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, throws his hat in the ring for the forthcoming presidential contest.

Raeisi arrived at the Interior Ministry building on Friday and registered for the 12th presidential election, scheduled to be held on May 19.

He has served as Attorney General from 2014 to 2016, and Deputy Judiciary Chief from 2004 to 2014. He was also Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran in 1980s and 1990s. Raeisi is also a member of the Assembly of Experts from South Khorasan Province, being elected for the first time in 2006 election.

On 6 April 2017, Raeisi officially announced his plans to runfor the upcoming presidential election.

Earlier in April, the national assembly of the Popular Front of the Islamic Revolution Forces named their five final candidates for the May presidential poll through voting.

The shortlist included Hojjatoleslam Raeisi, who garnered 2,147 votes, followed by Alireza Zakani, a former lawmaker, with 1,546 votes, Mehrdad Bazrpash, also a former lawmaker, with 1,404 votes, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is the current mayor of Tehran, with 1,373 votes, and Parviz Fattah, the current head of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation, with 994 votes.

The five were elected from a total of ten candidates, who had been chosen in the first meeting of the assembly, which was held at the same venue on February 23.

'Votes will decide Iran's fate'

Addressing the media after registering for the presidential election, Raeisi said peoples vote forms the basis of the Islamic establishment in Iran.

Peoples votes determine the countrys fate, he added.

The cleric saidthat all Iranian administrations have taken good steps for the countrys progress.

Raeisisaid the status quo in the country can be changed for the better and added that national economy must be insulated fromfluctuations in the global economy.

Raeisi said he has decided to take part in the presidential race as a candidate for all the Iranian people.

He added that he has chosen labor and dignity as the slogan of his administration if elected.

Raeisisaid the Islamic Republic must have variousforms of interaction with the entire world, including in the cultural andeconomic sector.

He emphasized that citizenship rights must be observed in practice and earnest, rather than merely being draftedin a charter.

We will continue with interaction with all countries except the occupying Zionist regime [Israel] and of course such relations will be based on [national] dignity, Raeisi said.

He also pointed to the five-year crisis in Syria and added that as repeatedly announced, Irans foreign policy principlesstipulatethat the Syrian issue must be solved by the Syrians themselves and the presence of foreign states will definitely add to the problems.

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Raeisi joins mix for 12th Iran presidential election - Press TV

New York Times

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Hard-Line Ex-Leader Ahmadinejad Stuns Iran With Election Bid - New York Times