Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani waves to reporters, as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iranian election authorities say several new high-profile politicians including hardliners, reformists, and allies of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have registered for the June 14 presidential elections. The campaign is taking shape as open season on Ahmadinejad's legacy and his combative style that bolstered his stature among supporters but alarmed critics. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani waves to reporters, as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iranian election authorities say several new high-profile politicians including hardliners, reformists, and allies of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have registered for the June 14 presidential elections. The campaign is taking shape as open season on Ahmadinejad's legacy and his combative style that bolstered his stature among supporters but alarmed critics. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, and his close ally Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei flash victory signs, as they arrive at the election headquarters of the interior ministry for registering of Rahim Mashaei for the upcoming presidential election, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iran's powerful former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has entered the race for the June presidential election. Simultaneously, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's close confident Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei also signed up in the last minutes before Saturday's registration deadline. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani puts his hands on his forehead as a gesture of respect to media, as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iranian election authorities say several new high-profile politicians including hardliners, reformists, and allies of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have registered for the June 14 presidential elections. The campaign is taking shape as open season on Ahmadinejad's legacy and his combative style that bolstered his stature among supporters but alarmed critics. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, shows his identification as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iranian election authorities say several new high-profile politicians including hardliners, reformists, and allies of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have registered for the June 14 presidential elections. The campaign is taking shape as open season on Ahmadinejad's legacy and his combative style that bolstered his stature among supporters but alarmed critics. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shows his inked finger and registration paper to media as he registers his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Iranian election authorities say several new high-profile politicians including hardliners, reformists, and allies of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have registered for the June 14 presidential elections. The campaign is taking shape as open season on Ahmadinejad's legacy and his combative style that bolstered his stature among supporters but alarmed critics. Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A pair of powerful and divisive figures registered Saturday to run in Iran's presidential election, providing a jolt to the political scene a month ahead of the vote.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who still wields enormous influence, and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, a close confident of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, submitted their official paperwork just before Saturday's deadline. State TV showed both men at the Interior Ministry signing up. A smiling Ahmadinejad accompanied Mashaei and raised the man's hand in a gesture of support.
The two hopefuls' entry into the race presents a tough challenge to conservative candidates loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and will likely intensify competition between rival groups in the June 14 vote.
Rafsanjani now stands as the prime hopeful for reformists, who were crushed and left leaderless after a government crackdown on mass street protests following Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 election victory.
A Rafsanjani win would likely open the way for the easing of tensions with the outside world and distance Iran from Ahmadinejad's bombastic style and the hardline policies of the Islamic Republic's conservative camp.
Iran is grappling with tough oil and banking sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, which have caused the country's income from oil and gas exports to drop about 50 percent. The West fears Iran may ultimately be able to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
The decision of Rafsanjani and Mashaei to run greatly reduces the chance of a Khamenei loyalist winning the vote. About two dozen conservatives, including former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, who is now a top adviser to Khamenei, and Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, have registered their candidacies as well.
But Rafsanjani's candidacy means conservative hopefuls likely will have to step aside to limit the number of hardline figures in the race to have a minimum of hope for victory.
The hardline Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog, will vet the applicants before allowing them to run.
Mashaei, who has drawn the wrath of Khamenei in recent years, said he will respect the law if the council scratches his candidacy.
"All must give in to the law," he told reporters.
Ahmadinejad is barred by law from seeking a third term due to term limits under Iran's constitution.
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