TEHRAN, May 4 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who said Friday he would seek re-election in June, will be standing on a meager record of accomplishments in the face of fierce opposition to his reformist agenda.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gives an emotional speech in Tehran 04 May 2001 to announce that he will stand for re-election next month. The 57-year-old cleric, whose moves to liberalize Iran have been bitterly opposed by the conservative establishment, said he would have ideally preferred to serve the nation in some other capacity, adding that there was still a 'heavy price' to pay for democracy in Iran.

His four years in office have underlined that the presidency, as defined by the Iranian constitution, is a largely honorary post with very little real political power.

Conservatives who control the security apparatus, courts, police and army, as well as major sectors of the economy and powerful oversight bodies, have been able to bring Khatami's reform agenda to a virtual standstill.

They take their cue from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state and has not shied away from directly intervening in daily affairs in recent months.

Last year he blocked parliament, which is dominated by reformists, from considering amendments to Iran's press code, which was used by the courts to shutter more than 30 mostly pro-Khatami newspapers and journals.

The suspension of a pro-Khatami newspaper in 1999 set off the worst unrest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and helped fuel conservative calls to slow down the reformist movement.

Since then every major pro-reform newspaper has been shuttered, the main opposition party has been closed down and dozens of Khatami allies, from student leaders to dissident clerics, have been jailed or are awaiting trial.

The 1998 murders of several leading dissidents and intellectuals, blamed on rogue intelligence agents, shocked the nation and sparked charges from some reformists of a "shadow government" with its hands on the real levers of power.

Khatami has publicly acknowledged his limited powers, and last October said the campaign against his reform movement was "sick."

Meanwhile, the economy continues to stumble, with unemployment high and around 85 percent of hard currency earnings still tied to the petroleum sector, which has recovered thanks to a price explosion on the worldwide market.

Khatami has managed considerable success on the international stage, refurbishing Iran's image abroad and repairing ties with both Europe and other nations of the Persian Gulf.

With two days still to go for candidates to register for the presidential polls, it remains unclear who will be the leading conservative candidate to challenge Khatami, who is nevertheless expected to win the election.

Former intelligence chief Ali Fallahian and university chancellor Abdollah Josbi are the most prominent conservative figures to step forward so far.

The former head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaie, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, while onetime labor minister Ahmad Tavakoli has also said he will run.