Regional
Iran’s presidential election dominated by Khamenei loyalists
The election coincides with escalating regional tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, increased Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, and growing domestic dissent
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Iranians choose a president on Friday in a tightly controlled election following Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month, with the outcome expected to influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top decision-maker.
With Iran’s supreme leader now 85, it is likely that the next president will be closely involved in the eventual process of choosing a successor to Khamenei, who has ensured candidates sharing his hardline views dominate the presidential contest, Reuters reported.
The election coincides with escalating regional tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, increased Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, and growing domestic dissent over political, social, and economic crises.
However, the looming succession to the fiercely anti-Western Khamenei is the overriding concern among Iran’s clerical elite, Reuters reported.
The Guardian Council, a vetting body of clerics and jurists aligned to Khamenei, has approved five hardline and one low-profile moderate candidates from an initial pool of 80.
Iran’s presidential election comes after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month
Prominent among the hardliners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, parliament speaker and former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator.
The sole moderate candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, has the endorsement of Iran’s politically-sidelined reformist camp.
Khamenei has not backed any candidate publicly. However, his adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi has urged voters to elect “a president whose views do not conflict with those of the supreme leader,” state media reported.
“The people should choose a president who considers himself the second in command … The president should not create division,” said Safavi, a former chief commander of the Guards.
While the president’s role has a high international profile, real power rests with the supreme leader, who has the final say on state matters like foreign or nuclear policies and controls all branches of government, the military, media and the bulk of financial resources.
Raisi was widely seen as a potential successor to Khamenei, and his sudden death has sparked a race among hard liners seeking to influence the selection of Iran’s next top leader.
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He also said Israel will act with full force against Iran-backed Hezbollah if it does not stop firing at Israel from Lebanon and move away from the border, Reuters reported.
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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Iran’s message of an “obliterating war” made it worthy of destruction.
“A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed,” Katz said in a post on X.
He also said Israel will act with full force against Iran-backed Hezbollah if it does not stop firing at Israel from Lebanon and move away from the border, Reuters reported.
Iran’s UN mission said on Friday that if Israel embarks on a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, “an obliterating war will ensue.”
The Iranian mission also said in the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that in such an event “all options, incl. the full involvement of all resistance fronts, are on the table.”
Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel since October, in parallel with the Gaza war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said this week they prefer a diplomatic path to resolving the situation.
Though Katz is a member of Israel’s security cabinet, war policy has largely been led by Netanyahu and a small circle of ministers that includes Gallant, who visited Washington this week for talks on Gaza and Lebanon.
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With more than 24 million votes counted moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with over 10 million votes ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with over 9.4 million votes, according to provisional results released by the ministry.
![](https://www.ariananews.af/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-3.jpg)
Iran will hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 after neither of the top candidates secured more than 50% of votes in Friday’s polls, the interior ministry said on Saturday.
The vote to replace Ebrahim Raisi after his death in a helicopter crash came down to a tight race between the sole moderate in a field of four candidates and the supreme leader’s hardline protege.
With more than 24 million votes counted moderate lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian led with over 10 million votes ahead of hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili with over 9.4 million votes, according to provisional results released by the ministry, Reuters reported.
Power in Iran ultimately lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, so the result will not herald any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear programme or its support for militia groups across the Middle East.
But the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s policy.
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Iran’s presidential election officially kicks off
![](https://www.ariananews.af/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Iran-1.png)
Iranians started voting on Friday for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration.
State television showed queues inside polling stations in several cities. More than 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote. Polls were due to close at 6 p.m. (1430 GMT), but are usually extended as late as midnight, Reuters reported.
The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to war between Israel and Iranian allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear program.
While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.
Khamenei called for a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
“The durability, strength, dignity and reputation of the Islamic Republic depend on the presence of people,” Khamenei told state television after casting his vote. “High turnout is a definite necessity.”
Voter turnout has plunged over the past four years, as a mostly youthful population chafes at political and social curbs.
Manual counting of ballots means it is expected to be two days before the final result is announced, though initial figures may come out around midday on Saturday.
If no candidate wins at least 50% plus one vote from all ballots cast, including blank votes, a run-off round between the top two candidates is held on the first Friday after the election result is declared.
Three candidates are hardliners and one is a low-profile comparative moderate, backed by the reformist faction that has largely been sidelined in Iran in recent years.
Critics of Iran’s clerical rule say the low and declining turnout of recent elections shows the system’s legitimacy has eroded. Just 48% of voters participated in the 2021 election that brought Raisi to power, and turnout hit a record low of 41% in a parliamentary election three months ago.
The next president is not expected to usher in any major policy shift on Iran’s nuclear programme or support for militia groups across the Middle East, since Khamenei calls all the shots on top state matters.
However, the president runs the government day-to-day and can influence the tone of Iran’s foreign and domestic policy.
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