Abbas Araghchi is a seasoned pragmatist diplomat who was the chief negotiator in nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers from 2013 to 2021.
A triumph by Masoud might promote a pragmatic foreign policy, ease tensions over now-stalled negotiations with major powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, and improve prospects for social liberalisation and political pluralism, analysts said.
The Council disqualified hardline former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and former parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, a prominent conservative.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be barred from the race: the country's cleric-led Guardian Council will vet candidates, and publish the list of qualified ones on June 11.