Iran’s Guardian Council has expressed concern about the “physical capabilities” of election candidates and the ability of senior candidates to handle the workload of presidential duties.

Abbasali Kadkhodayi, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, said: “One who wants to assume a chief executive post and is only able to put in just a few hours of work a day will obviously be denied eligibility.

Parliament has also been considering a maximum age of 75 as a desirable criterion for presidential candidates.

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the moderate cleric who has come to represent many of the reformists, is the only person seeking candidacy who is over 75 years of age.

Hashemi Rafsanjani has been frowned upon by the conservatives in the Islamic Republic ever since he sided with protesters who took to the streets after the last presidential election due to allegations of fraud in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory.

Radio Zamaneh