Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad declared Saturday that he had entered the runoff of Iran's ninth presidential election, but his announcement was not confirmed by the Interior Ministry.

"I can say that I have entered the second round of election," Ahmadinejad told a press conference.

"I know much earlier than you do because you are just from media and I am an insider," Ahmadinejad said in rebuff to a journalist's doubt.

Earlier, the state television quoted an official of the Interior Ministry as saying that former Majlis (parliament) Speaker Mehdi Karoubi is in the second place at present, following former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

However, the official said that the vote count has not been finished in Tehran, where Ahmadinejad garnered most of the counted votes.

"If votes in Tehran are accounted, Ahmadinejad will go to the second round," the official said.

Under the Iranian law, the top two presidential candidates will enter the runoff if no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the votes cast in the first round.

Source: Xinhua