Iranians have voted in an election to decide the fate of four candidates competing to succeed President Hassan Rouhani.
Nearly 60 million voters were eligible, but there are concerns of a low turnout in a race widely expected to be won by former judge Ebrahim Raisi.
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If he wins, it would put hardliners in control as the government tries to salvage the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement.
The vote is also seen as a referendum on the current leadership’s handling of Iran’s economic crisis, brought on by crippling US sanctions and worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
But in a country run by a powerful supreme leader, is the job of a president even relevant?
Presenter: Dareen Abughaida
Guests:
Mohammad Marandi – Head of the North American Studies Graduate Program at the University of Tehran
Ali Fathollah Nejad – Affiliated scholar with Freie Universitat’s Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics
Mostafa Khoshchesm – Journalist and Iran affairs analyst