Candidates in Iran's June 14 presidential election all agree that rampant inflation is the most pressing problem, but commentators Saturday bemoaned that in a first television debate none proposed real solutions.

Press commentators accepted the complaints of several candidates that the Friday debate's format, which gave little scope for real discussion of issues, had not helped them present their policies.

Influential Muslim cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi has called on Sunni Muslims to join the rebels fighting the Syrian regime, as he lashed out at Lebanon's Hizbullah for sending its men to fight the mostly-Sunni insurgents in Syria.

Qaradawi, a controversial figure in the West but who has millions of supporters, mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood, also hit out at Iran for backing the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad.

Four people have died after drinking home-made alcohol in southern Iran and 298 others were poisoned, the ISNA news agency quoted a local health official as saying on Friday.

"Nine of the victims are in a coma and have lost their vision," said Hamid Najmeddin, adding that 100 of the victims were on dialysis after drinking the alcohol on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed fresh doubt Friday that Iran's presidential elections would change Tehran's controversial nuclear policy.

"I do not have high expectations that the election is going to change the fundamental calculus of Iran," Kerry told reporters.

Four people have died after drinking home-made alcohol in southern Iran and 298 others were poisoned, the ISNA news agency quoted a local health official as saying on Friday.

"Nine of the victims are in a coma and have lost their vision," said Hamid Najmeddin, adding that 100 of the victims were on dialysis after drinking the alcohol on Wednesday.

Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmed bin Hilli described on Friday Hizbullah's involvement in battles in Syria as “dangerous development,” calling on the party to reconsider its stance.

“Hizbullah's involvement in Syria battles complicates the matters,” Hilli said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Gulf Arab states will consider placing Hizbullah, which is openly involved in the Syrian conflict, on its terror list, al-Rai daily quoted highly placed diplomats on Thursday as saying.

Bahrain will ask foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss "placing Hizbullah on the terror list" at a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the newspaper said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slammed on Wednesday Hizbullah's fighting in Syria, warning that it will incur “severe consequences” on Lebanon.

He therefore demanded the formation of a new government independent of the party's influence, while saying that the LF supports a technical extension of parliament's term instead of the adoption of the 1960 electoral law for the parliamentary elections.

The March 14 General Secretariat noted on Wednesday that the northern city of Tripoli is paying the price of the absence of the Lebanese state, demanding that no red lines be imposed against it and the army imposing their authority in preserving security in the city.

It demanded in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The General Prosecution should immediately issue arrest warrants against one of the local allies of the Syrian regime, who appeared before the media and who threatened shell the city.”

The eight hopefuls seeking Iran's highest elected office are to take part in a televised group debate on Friday, with its ailing economy hit by international sanctions topping the agenda.

Campaigning for the June 14 poll officially began last week after Iran's electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, approved the eight -- including several figures close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- from a field of nearly 700 would-be candidates.