Iran’s supreme leader called Tuesday for “maximum” voter turnout in this week’s presidential election to “overcome the enemy,” denouncing politicians who he described as believing that everything good comes from the United States.
While not naming any particular candidates, the comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to directly undercut the candidacy of the race’s sole reformist candidate, 69-year-old heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian. In recent speeches, Pezeshkian has urged Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and increase its outreach to the West.
“The one who has the slightest opposition to the revolution… or the Islamic system, is not useful to you,” Khamenei said. “He will not be a good colleague for you.”
Khamenei’s comments drew repeated cries of “Death to America, death to Israel” from a raucous crowd gathered to mark the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir. The 85-year-old Khamenei to urge the crowd to quiet themselves several times during his remarks.
Friday’s election comes after a May helicopter crash that killed Iran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Khamenei.
Khamenei’s call comes after a parliamentary election that saw a record low turnout earlier this year. Voters across Tehran have expressed widespread apathy over the election as Iran faces an economy crushed by Western sanctions and after widespread anti-government protests in recent years, particularly after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and women refusing to wear the country’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab.