Photo : Collected
Iranians are voting on Friday to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a May helicopter crash in the country's northwest along with the foreign minister and several other officials.
Analysts broadly describe the race as a three-way contest. There are two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and the parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. Then there’s the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, who has aligned himself with those seeking a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
After record-low turnout in recent elections, it remains unclear how many Iranians will take part in Friday’s poll.
While 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has final say on all matters of state, presidents can bend Iran toward confrontation or negotiations with the West.
Sole reform candidate says he'll seek better ties 'with all countries except Israel’
The sole reformist running in Iran’s presidential election told journalists after voting: “God willing, we will try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel.”
The remark by Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon who seeks a return to the atomic accord and better relations with the West, came after he faced a thinly veiled warning from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his outreach to the United States.
With the comment, Pezeshkian signals his effort to energize those who want more engagement with the West after the collapse of the country’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. However, close ties to the West — particularly the U.S. — would be anathema to the hard-liners he faces.
In Iraq, Iranian workers, pilgrims and prisoners cast votes abroad
Messenger/Fameema
