Adviser:"Khatami to pull out of Iranian election"

TEHRAN,Iran-A popular reformist politician has decided to pull out of the upcoming race against hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to avoid splitting the pro-reform vote, a senior adviser said Monday.Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami declared his intention to run in the June election about a month ago, boosting the hopes of reformists who favor improving ties with the West and liberalizing Iran's conservative Islamic culture.
But two other prominent reformists have entered the race since then, one of them a former hard-liner who Khatami has said has a better chance of siphoning votes away from conservatives."It is certain that he is pulling out of the race, but he has not made his decision public yet," said one of Khatami's senior advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.Another close Khatami ally, former reformist Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, said on his Web site that Khatami was expected to formally announce his decision later Monday.Khatami, a liberal cleric who was president in 1997-2005, is the best known internationally among Iran's reformist politicians and is also popular at home, particularly among the young. But he is strongly disliked by hard-liners, who accuse him of aiming to change the nature of Iran's Islamic state.On Sunday, Khatami told supporters that he believed another influential reformist candidate, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, has a better chance of overcoming resistance from Iran's ruling clerics. Khatami has said in the past that he and Mousavi would not compete against each other.Iran's reformers see a strong opportunity to unseat Ahmadinejad, who is seeking his second term but has lost popularity over his handling of the country's faltering economy and other issues.Mousavi, who announced his candidacy last week, could pose a serious challenge to the current president. He is remembered well by many Iranians for managing the country during the 1980-88 war with Iraq, and his revolutionary credentials also could help siphon votes away from Ahmadinejad's base in the June 12 elections.
"Rest assured that Mousavi will recruit a remarkable percentage of votes from the other side. I have reports that some conservatives will not vote for me and this guy (Ahmadinejad), but they would definitely vote for Mousavi," Khatami told supporters. He said that he and Mousavi share about 20 percent to 30 percent of the reformist vote.Another reformist, former parliament speaker Mahdi Karroubi, has also announced his candidacy for the June election. He has repeatedly said he won't drop out regardless of who else is running, but his party was meeting Monday to assess the situation.
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI,AP Writer
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As in the days of Noah...