A low-key moderate and a protégé of Iran's supreme leader are neck-and-neck in the vote count in snap presidential elections marked by voter apathy.
Vote unlikely to alter policies, may shape Khamenei successionRegional tensions rising due to war in Gaza
Iran's Tasnim news agency said a run-off election was "very likely" to pick the next president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. The clerical establishment sought a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.
A staunch anti-Westerner, Jalili's win would signal the possibility of an even more antagonistic turn in the Islamic Republic's foreign and domestic policy, analysts said.The election was a contest among a tightly controlled group of three hardline candidates and one low-profile moderate loyal to the supreme leader. A hardline watchdog body approved only six from an initial pool of 80 and two hardline candidates subsequently dropped out.
Government And Politics Voting Saeed Jalili Foreign Policy Ali Khamenei Business News
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