Who are the six candidates in Iran's presidential race?

The field narrowed from eight after conservative ex-parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel withdrew on Monday and the sole reformist, Mohammad Reza Aref, followed on Tuesday.

Here are short profiles of the candidates vying to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run for re-election after serving two consecutive terms:

Jalili, 47, a frontrunner seen as close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all national issues. He lacks executive experience, however.

As Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, he is known for his tough stand in talks with world powers. The West suspects Tehran's controversial nuclear programme masks a drive for a weapons capability, a claim it denies.

Soft-spoken, but with a rigid, religious persona, Jalili hopes to rally traditionalist voters based on his unwavering loyalty for Khamenei.

Born in the holy city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran in 1965, he is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s in which he lost the lower part of his right leg.

Qalibaf, 51, is considered another leading candidate from among the conservatives and has vowed to repair Iran's ailing economy in "two years".

His record as a national police chief and Tehran mayor, coupled with his loyalty to Khamenei, has led to his political stock rising in recent years. He has often criticised Ahmadinejad's administration.

Velayati, 67, is a key conservative politician and veteran diplomat, who has served as an international affairs adviser to Khamenei since August 1997.

He has promised to repair "the damage and ruin" left by Ahmadinejad "in two or three years' time" by mending foreign relations, which he says will improve Iran's situation, especially its economy.

He has criticised Jalili's tactics in nuclear talks with world powers.

Rezai, 58, holds a doctorate in economics and is a critic of Ahmadinejad's "mismanagement" of the economy. He has vowed, if elected, to curb inflation and unemployment.

Best known for his 16 years as head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, he lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2009 election.

Rowhani, 64, is a religious moderate and the only cleric contesting the election. He was nuclear negotiator under reformist ex-president Mohammad Khatami.

Rowhani has vowed to restore diplomatic ties with arch-foe the United States, which cut relations with Iran in the aftermath of the 1979 seizure of the American embassy in Tehran by Islamist students.

After Aref's withdrawal, he was endorsed by Khatami. He is also seen as drawing support from the backers of another ex-president, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was barred from standing for office.

Gharazi, 72, is the oldest candidate and the least known. He was a minister under Rafsanjani and under opposition leader and ex-prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is currently under house arrest.