TEHRAN - Hassanollah Verdineja, the secretary general of the Islamic Iran Welfare Party, has declared that he would run in the upcoming presidential election as an “independent” candidate.

Verdineja said he does not intend to give up his candidacy otherwise he would be rejected by the oversight Guardian Council.
“We will contest this round of presidential election with full force,” Verdinejad told the ISNA news agency in an interview published on Tuesday.
He also said the enemies are trying to disappoint the people from voting. However, he said this plot will not succeed.
He said his party is not aligned with any of the conservative and reformist groups in the country.
“We are neither left nor right,” he noted. “But as a servant we are waiting for people to make their choice.”
The Welfare Party chief also said he would not favor the candidacy of former president Mohammad Khatami, nor former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and National Confidence Party leader Mahdi Karroubi. He said these persons will be rejected by the “young generation”.
On who will win the presidential election, he said, “Today we cannot say Mr. Ahmadinejad or Mr. Khatami will be the winner of presidential elections. The final or real victor will be a person who introduces himself as people’s servant.”
He said he is committed to the Constitution and the religious leadership and believes that the youth should be allowed to take over managerial posts.
Verdineja said if he is elected as president he will focus on foreign investments and facilitating visits to the country by Iranians living abroad.
“I will provide a good condition if foreign investors want to invest in our country,” he told ISNA.
“I will announce my plans in future days.”
The party leader also lamented the weak status of parties in the country. “The parties should be given a good status because the existence of parties is an indication of democracy.”
The party leader also said he plans to run a newspaper and a news agency under the name of Alborz next week