Following a historically low turnout of 40% in the first round of voting on June 28, which saw no contender secure a majority, there will be a run-off election.
Among them, Dr. Massoud Pezeshkian, a former cardiac surgeon, criticizes Iran’s infamous morality police, while Saeed Jalili, his opponent, supports the status quo.
Following the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the previous president of Iran, and the deaths of seven other people in a helicopter crash in May, an election was called.
After calling for “unity and cohesion” and an end to Iran’s “isolation” from the outside world, Dr. Pezeshkian has generated controversy.
“Constructive negotiations” with Western countries are what he has asked for.
Iran’s most religious populations strongly back Mr. Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who is well-known for his extreme anti-Western stance and resistance to restoring the nuclear deal, which he claims broke Iran’s “red lines.”
Both candidates had to pass a screening procedure administered by the Guardian Council, an influential group of 12 clerics and jurists in Iran, in order to be allowed to run.
