TEHRAN – A member of the Hope parliamentary bloc has said Es’haq Jahangiri’s decision to stay in the course of the presidential race was an “unexpected event.”

“We cannot tell him to go. He became candidate on his own and will step down if he wishes,” Soheila Jelodarzadeh told Fars on Wednesday.

She added that in a recent meeting, the parliamentary group unanimously stressed their support for Hassan Rouhani as presidential candidate.

SP/PA