The
United States on Thursday slapped
sanctions on five Iranian officials in charge of vetting candidates for the Islamic republic's parliamentary
elections, in which thousands, predominantly moderates, have been barred from running.
The officials targeted ahead of Friday's vote include Ahmad Jannati, a 92-year-old cleric who, according to the Treasury Department, oversaw the disqualification of nearly half the 16,033 potential candidates including dozens of sitting MPs.
Along with his role on the election-supervising Guardian Council, the ultra-conservative also plays a key role on the body that selects the regime's supreme leader.