TEHRAN – Former prime minster Mir-Hossein Mousavi has asked one-month time to decide on presidential candidacy which has been rejected by former president Mohammad Khatami, the Mehr News Agency has learnt from sources close to Mousavi.

The news broke out as the two persons met on Saturday.
Khatami has said reformists should name their candidate by the end of the Ten-Day Dawn celebrations which ends on Feb. 10.
Reformists have been lobbying hard to persuade Khatami to contest the presidential vote. The former president has not ruled out running but he says he prefers Mousavi as the reformist camp’s nominee.
“Although I have not yet officially announced my candidacy, some actions have been taken against me and they are continuing as we speak,” sources quoted Khatami as saying.
According to sources, Khatami has insisted that if he decides to run, three other alternative candidates should be also chosen so that if he fails to continue his campaign those candidates would replace him.
Khatami named Mousavi, former head of the Budget and Planning Organization Mohammad Ali Najafi, and former first vice president Mohammad-Reza Aref as the three alternative candidates.
The former president said if he was prevented from running “someone who has the power to tackle problems should replace him.”
Sources within the reformist camp say if Mousavi officially announces that he will not run, Khatami will announce his candidacy within next week.