Polls open in Iran presidential election runoff

Polls have opened for Iran's runoff presidential election, the interior ministry said, pitting reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili in the race to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May helicopter crash.

The Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, cast his ballot when the polls opened at 08:00 am (0430 GMT), state TV showed.

"We are starting the second round of the 14th presidential election to choose the future president from among the two candidates across 58,638 polling stations in the country and all stations abroad," Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said, according to state TV.

The vote comes against the backdrop of heightened regional tensions over the war in Gaza, Iran's dispute with the West over its nuclear programme and popular discontent at the state of the country's sanctions-hit economy.

In last week's first round, Pezeshkian, who was the only reformist permitted to stand, won the largest number of ballots, around 42 percent, while the former nuclear negotiator Jalili came in second place with 39 percent, according to figures from Iran's elections authority.

Only 40 percent of Iran's 61 million eligible voters cast their ballot - the lowest turnout in any presidential election since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

On Wednesday, Khamenei called for a higher turnout in the runoff.

"The second round of the presidential election is very important," he said in a video carried by state TV.

Low turnout

He said participation was "not as expected" in the first round but that it was not an act "against the system."

Last week's vote saw the conservative parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf come in third place with 13.8 percent, while cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi garnered less than one percent.

Iran's presidential election was originally scheduled for 2025 but was brought forward by the death of president Raisi in a May helicopter crash.

The rival candidates in the runoff have held two debates where they discussed Iran's economic woes, international relations, the low voter turnout and internet restrictions.

Pezeshkian is a 69-year-old heart surgeon who has represented the northwestern city of Tabriz in parliament since 2008.

He has earned the support of Iran's main reformist coalition, with former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani declaring their backing for his bid.

Jalili, 58, rallied a substantial base of hardline supporters and received backing from Ghalibaf and two other ultraconservative candidates who dropped out of the race before the first round.

In one recent debate, the rivals expressed dismay over turnout in the first round.

On Tuesday, Pezeshkian said people were "fed up with their living conditions ... and dissatisfied with the government's management of affairs."