The ceremony was held in the capital Tehran on Sunday, with representatives of the six approved candidates for the upcoming presidential election being in attendance.
Observers from the Guardian Council – the supervisory body that approved the candidates – and representatives from the Interior Ministry as well as the head of national broadcaster IRIB were also present in the ceremony.
The presidential debates are set to be broadcast live on national TV, with the candidates answering questions and elaborating on their plans to administer the country. The first debate is scheduled for June 17.
Four more debates will be held in days afterwards, with the last one set for June 25, three days before voters go to the polls across the country to choose a successor to the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who along with his entourage, was martyred in a copter crash on May 19.
During the Sunday ceremony, the timetable was also set for TV and radio programs for campaigning by the presidential hopefuls.
Earlier that day, Iran’s Election Headquarters announced the final list of the hopefuls deemed qualified by the Guardian Council.
Former justice minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, former health minister Massoud Pezeshkian, head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Amirhossein Ghazizadeh-Hashemi, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf have been cleared to run for the upcoming elections.
MNA/IRN