TEHRAN (Iran News) –A meeting of the heads of Iran’s branches of power was held on Wednesday evening to coordinate plans for the upcoming presidential election, slated for June 28.

The meeting was attended by the acting president, the Parliament speaker, the Judiciary chief, the vice president for legal affairs, the minister of intelligence, the minister of information and communications technology, and the president of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib gave a report on the presidential contest, saying his ministry will constantly and impartially monitor the behavior of the candidates and their proponents, give the necessary warnings to people against destructive or defamatory conducts, and report the wrongdoings to the judicial authorities, if necessary.

He also noted that the Intelligence Ministry is trying to foil hostile attempts by foreign-based elements at disrupting the Iranian community’s psychological calm, so that people would be able to vote in a healthy atmosphere without the enemy’s interference.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage crashed in northwestern mountainous forests on May 19, killing the president, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and six others.

According to the Constitution, First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber has taken the helm as the acting president at the discretion of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

The Elections Headquarters of Iran has set a timetable for the formation of electoral executive delegations, the registration of applicants, and the election campaign processes.

The election campaign period is set for June 12-26, while the nationwide presidential election will be held on Friday, June 28.

In a live televised speech on June 3, Ayatollah Khamenei described the upcoming presidential elections in Iran as a momentous undertaking and a highly rewarding phenomenon. “If these elections are conducted properly and with great splendor and magnificence, it will be a significant achievement for the Iranian nation and it will resonate powerfully throughout the world,” he said.

The Leader also said, “The Iranian nation requires an active, hardworking, knowledgeable, and principled president who believes in the principles of the Revolution in order to safeguard their interests and solidify their strategic depth in complex international equations.”

The Intelligence Ministry said it has detected and disbanded an organized network of medicine traders and dealers that used to sell medication for the treatment of COVID-19 illegally and in violation of the official health and medicine regulations.

Being in cahoots with a number of wrongdoers in medical centers, those arrested obtained the coronavirus medicines from the quota of products given to the health centers and sold them in the black market at exorbitant prices, it said.

Demand for medical supplies and health products has grown in Iran in recent months following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Hojatoleslam Ebrahim Raeisi has ordered severe punishment for hoarding pharmaceutical and health products as Iranian organizations and government bodies are heavily engaged in efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

The health of people would never be up for bargain, Raeisi has said, noting that hoarding medical commodities in the current circumstances is playing with the lives of people and could not be forgiven by any means.

The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces on Monday issued a statement about the cyberspace international law.

According to the statement, the Iranian Armed Forces believe that the cyberattacks resulting in financial damages or harm to people amount to the use of force.

“If such operations affect the national vital infrastructures, including the defense infrastructures, they would naturally violate the principle of use of force, be it under the ownership of the government or the private sector,” it added.

The statement also emphasized that the Iranian Armed Forces will reserve the right of self-defense if the intensity of a cyberattack on Iran’s vital infrastructures reaches the threshold of a conventionally armed attack.

It added that Iran would never start a conflict in the cyberspace, but warned that any violation of the guidelines and policies mentioned in the statement from any government, group and individual sponsored or directed by any state would allow the Iranian Armed Forces to give a vigorous response to the threats at any level.

In remarks in July, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tehran reserves the right to resort to the cyberspace or any other means to respond to the cyberattacks launched by foreign governments and regimes.

“Iran reserves the right to take the appropriate and proportional reciprocal action at the appropriate time. We may employ any tool to defend ourselves against the cyberattacks, including the cyberspace or other weaponry. Moreover, we will do our utmost to prove the international responsibility of the country starting or facilitating such attacks, and to make them be held accountable for their illegal measures,” the spokesman said.