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The 88-member assembly, founded in 1982, supervises the most
powerful authority but has rarely intervened directly in
policy-making.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is 84, so the new assembly is
expected to play a significant role in choosing his successor
since its members are only elected every eight years.
Close to moderates, Rouhani was elected president in a landslide
in 2013 and 2017 on a promise to reduce Iran's diplomatic
isolation.
But the mid-ranking cleric angered political hardliners who
opposed any rapprochement with the U.S. "Great Satan" after
reaching a 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers.
The deal unravelled in 2018 when then-U.S. President Donald
Trump ditched the agreement and reimposed sanctions that have
crippled Iran's economy. Efforts to revive the pact have failed.
"There was no reason given for the Guardian Council's decision,"
a source close to Rouhani told Reuters, adding that "no decision
has been made yet for an appeal" as Rouhani has three days to
object.
"Rouhani has been a member of the assembly since 1999 for three
terms ... It will be interesting to see what the reason for his
disqualification was."
The 12-member Guardian Council, which oversees elections and
legislation, disqualified 80% of candidates running for the
assembly in its last election in 2016.
Moderate politicians have accused the Guardian Council of
disqualifying rivals, and said that excluding candidates from
the race undermines the vote's legitimacy.
A low turnout for the upcoming elections is expected, with
Rouhani saying last week that the majority of people do not want
to vote and that this will favour the ruling minority which
relies on low turnout.
With Rouhani's disqualification, the Guardian Council had made
it clear that hardliners intended to keep moderates away from
the assembly, a pro-reform insider said.
The Guardian Council has also disqualified hundreds of hopefuls
running for the parliamentary election also to be held on March
1.
State media reported that only 30 mid-ranking moderate
candidates have been qualified to stand for the 290-seat
parliament. Around 12,000 hopefuls will run for parliament,
state media reported.
(Additional reporting by Elwelly Elwelly,; Editing by Parisa
Hafez and Nick Macfie)
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