DUBAI — Iran held a runoff presidential election Friday pitting a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker, though both men earlier struggled to convince a skeptical public to cast ballots in the first round that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.

Government officials up to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei predicted a higher participation rate as voting took place, with state television airing images of modest lines at some polling centers. However, online videos purported to show some polls empty while a survey of several dozen sites in the capital, Tehran, saw light traffic amid a heavy security presence on the streets.

Khamenei has insisted the low turnout from the first round on June 28 didn’t represent a referendum on Iran’s Shiite theocracy. However, many remain disillusioned as Iran has been beset by years of crushing economic sanctions, bloody security force crackdowns on mass protests and tensions with the West over Tehran’s advancing nuclear program enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

“I want to save the country from isolation we are stuck in, and from lies and the violence against women because Iranian women don’t deserve to be beaten up and insulted on the street by extremists who want to destroy the country by cutting ties with big countries,” voter Ghazaal Bakhtiari said. “We should have ties with America and powerful nations.”

The race pits former negotiator Saeed Jalili against reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. Jalili has had a recalcitrant reputation among Western diplomats during negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, something that is paired with concern at home over his hard-line views on Iran’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab. Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon, has campaigned on relaxing hijab enforcement and reaching out to the West, though he too for decades has supported Khamenei and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Pezeshkian’s supporters have been warning Jalili will usher in a “Taliban”-style government, while Jalili has criticized Pezeshkian for running a campaign of fear-mongering.

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https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-07-05/iran-holds-runoff-presidential-vote-pitting-hard-liner-against-reformist-after-record-low-turnout