Tehran (dpa) - Faced with multiple former generals eyeing political runs in June 18 elections, Iranian President Hassan Rowhani took a moment on Sunday to advise them against a career in politics.

"Clearly, the duty of our armed forces is not just of a military nature, but it is also not to get it into politics," said Rowhani, noting that the military's job is to protect the nation's sovereignty and the government elected by the people.

Multiple former soldiers have announced their candidacies, raising fears among the reformers in Rowhani's camp that the country might next be ruled by a military government.

But there are no constitutional barriers to such candidacies. Only active military members are barred from politics.

Rowhani's camp has yet to name a candidate. Rowhani is barred from running, as he has already had two terms.

Two names have been bandied about by the reformers as potential candidates: former president Mohammed Khatami and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. But Khatami is barred from running because he was blacklisted after publicly criticizing manipulated elections in 2009. Meanwhile, Zarif has shown no interest in running.

Political observers say the elections might be determined less by the candidates on offer and more by US policy towards Iran. Should the administration of US President Joe Biden make a move to lift international sanctions on Iran, it would probably benefit the reformers. Maintaining them would probably be a boon to the hardliners and the generals.

The US sanctions are punishment for what it says are Iran's efforts to build a nuclear weapons programme, which Iran denies. However, Iran has recently made moves to enrich uranium closer to levels that would be needed for weaponization.