Tehran ( CNN ) -- Iran 's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will challenge the disqualification of his top aide from next month 's presidential election , Iran 's state-run Press TV reported Wednesday . Only eight candidates have been approved to run for office from more than 680 candidates who had registered for the June 14 election . Read more : Ahmadinejad shows no signs of going quietly . Along with Ahmadinejad 's aide , Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei , the name of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was also notably absent from the list of approved nominees , as was that of former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki . The vetting process was carried out by Iran 's Guardian Council , the country 's most influential clerical body , which operates under the watchful eyes of Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei . Iran in 2013 : Three possible crises . Ahmadinejad appealed for his supporters to be patient Wednesday , saying on his website that he would seek help from Khamenei . Ahmedinejad said `` the rights of the oppressed will not be trampled on in a country where there exists a supreme religious leader , '' referring to Khamenei , and insisted that he expected the issue to `` be resolved . '' Ahmadinejad , who is term-limited and so can not run for a third consecutive term , has been grooming Mashaei to take over for years . The head of Rafsanjani 's election campaign office said the former president will not object to the Guardian Council 's decision , Press TV reported . The eight approved nominees , whose names were released by Iran 's Interior Ministry late Tuesday , are : . -- Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel , a former Parliament speaker whose daughter is married to Khamenei 's son ; . -- Saeed Jalili , Iran 's chief nuclear negotiator , who also represents Iran in talks with the European Union ; . -- Mohsen Rezaei , currently a member of the Expediency Council and formerly the country 's top commander during the war with Iraq ; . -- Hassan Rouhani , currently head of the Center for Strategic Studies and Iran 's chief nuclear negotiator under former President Mohammad Khatami . -- Mohammad Reza Aref , an education minister in the Khatami presidency who could be characterized as independent ; . -- Mohammad Ghalibaf , a member of the Revolution Guard 's Corp and currently the mayor of Tehran ; . -- Mohammad Gharazi , a minister during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 's presidency ; . -- Ali Akbar Velayati , twice foreign minister during the Rafsanjani presidency and currently the supreme leader 's top adviser . Among the approved nominees , only Gharazi , Aref and Rouhani are not known to be devout followers of Khamenei . The run-up to the elections has been characterized by factionalism and political infighting , observers say . Four years ago , Ahmadinejad 's reelection sparked mass protests amid claims of electoral fraud . His chief rival , reformist Mir Hossein Moussavi , became a leader of the opposition Green Movement along with Mehdi Karrubi . The two subsequently were placed under house arrest , where they remain . Amanpour : Is Iran 's next president the face of its nuclear program ? Rafsanjani 's last-minute registration on Saturday had the potential to change the face of the election . Rafsanjani , who served two terms as president from 1989 to 1997 , has long been a staunch critic and bitter political rival of Ahmadinejad . Weeks after the 2009 elections , Rafsanjani condemned the regime 's violent crackdown against the opposition movement and spoke out for the people 's right to peacefully protest . He later toned down the attacks and made statements of apparent support of the regime and Khamenei . He is widely believed to be one of the wealthiest and most politically powerful men in Iran . A government news website cited the Interior Ministry 's elections chief , Seyed Solat Mortazavi , as saying official campaigning would begin on Friday and last for 20 days , ending June 12 . Voters also will elect members of city and rural Islamic councils on June 14 . Iran 's semiofficial Fars news agency said the eight presidential candidates would collectively have 539 hours of free TV and radio time to outline their plans . CNN 's Laura Smith-Spark , Reza Sayah , Tara Kangarloo and Saad Abedine contributed to this report .
NEW : Official campaigning by the 2013 approved presidential candidates will start on June 14 . President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says he will contest the disqualification of his top aide . Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is also among those disqualified . Tehran 's CNN decides who can stand in the elections on June 14 .