Khatami 'withdraws' from June presidential vote

Iran's moderate former president Mohammad Khatami has withdrawn his candidacy from the June presidential election, according to a close ally. Khatami is expected to back another reformist candidate, former premier Mirhossein Mousavi.“He has decided to withdraw ... but he will back another moderate candidate who will be announced shortly in a statement by Khatami,” the ally, who declined to be named, said. The ally did not give a reason for the withdrawal nor did he name the politician who Khatami would back but the former president had a meeting with another moderate candidate, former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi, on Sunday. Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005, oversaw a thawing in Iran’s ties with the West. Those relations have since sharply deteriorated under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is expected to seek a second four-year term.