Iranian hardliners fear polls defeat

But there is little sign any will pull out. That leaves them trailing and former president Hashemi Rafsanjani who advocates improving relations with Washington as the apparent front-runner.

Rafsanjani is presenting himself as the only candidate the world can rely on in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, which the Bush administration alleges is a front for developing atomic weapons.

He is running under the slogan "Let's work together." It is interpreted as a conciliatory gesture, because he has moved frequently between the hard-line and moderate camps in a country where conservative clerics have maintained control despite strong electoral showings by reformers.

The June 17 election will choose a successor to outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, who came to power in 1997 but whose attempts to bring reforms were thwarted by hard-line clerics loyal to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khatami is barred by law from seeking a third term.