Ahmadinejad to stand for second term as president

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad formally registered as a candidate on Friday for a second term as the Islamic republic's president and told a foreign news agency he was "hopeful" of winning the June 12 election. After registering, Ahmadinejad said he wanted to serve the people for a second time. "I just think about serving the people," he said. When asked about the possible outcome of the election, the hardline leader replied: "When a nation comes to the arena the result is always good and surprising, and I am hopeful." Iranian news agency ISNA said the incumbent president was accompanied to the interior ministry for registration by his campaign manager Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi and media adviser Mehdi Kalhor, as well as two vice presidents -- Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie and Ali Saeedlou. Ahmadinejad was the second of the four leading candidates expected to stand in the June 12 election to register formally.