TEHRAN, July 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Iran's powerful former president and defeated presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has quickly recovered from frustration and conceded reality to avoid a further loss in the upcoming redressing of power.

    Rafsanjani was overmatched sweepingly by ultra-conservative Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a presidential runoff on June 24.

    The former president had taken the lead in the race since he hinted his will to run for a third term several month ago, while 49-year Ahmadinejad had been widely viewed as an unpromising playmate until he surpassed other hopefuls to enter the runoff in the first round of voting on June 17.

    For a powerful political veteran of the Islamic Republic, such a loss was too bitter to accept at the beginning.

    Several hours after the voting result was announced on June 25,Rafsanjani blamed his unexpected failure on some alleged illegal activities against him in the election and some "illegally organized interference in the polls."

    He did not vent his anger at the Guardians Council, the hardline election and legislation supervisory body under orders ofSupreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei.

    "I am not willing to present a complaint to those who have shown that they can not or do not want to do anything. I will justleave it to God," he said.

    Rafsanjani, however, urged the Iranians to support and help Ahmadinejad, saying he had decided to stand in the election to "serve the people, the country and the belief," showing some degreeof magnanimousness matching a sophisticated politician.

    Just several days later, Rafsanjani came back to the public scene as usual. The veteran, still chairman of the Expediency Council and a key figure in the country's economic field, met withforeign guests including outgoing French Ambassador Francois Nicouloud and visiting Malian President Amadou Toumany Toure at the end of June.

    On Friday, Rafsanjani went to Tehran University to serve as Interim Friday Prayers Leader, a great honor mission shared by topmullahs in Iran.

    In his speech, Rafsanjani renewed his call to back the president-elect, asking his supporters to forget the past and refrain from extremism.

    "There were some problems in the process of the poll, but now that we have passed through that stage and have all accepted the results, we should not enter such discussions but should support the new president for the sake of the revolution and Iran," he said.

    "I have achieved two of my three objectives in the election: a high turnout and a highly qualified president-elect with high level of votes," Rafsanjani said.

    Defining the third objective as preventing conflict and discordin the country, he said "achievement of it depends on what we do in the future." Enditem