Iranian veteran faces challenge form hard-liner

Iran will hold the first runoff presidential election in its history between political veteran Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran’s hard-line mayor, election officials said today.

The contest on Friday offers distinct choices. Rafsanjani, 70, is a moderate who served as president from 1989-97. His rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 49, is untested as a national political figure and has the backing of Iran’s ruling clerics and their military guardians.