Iranians packed polling stations today in a tight presidential race between a well-known moderate cleric, who became the default choice for reformists, and a hard-liner seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranians packed polling stations today in a presidential race too close to call between a well-known political moderate and his hardline rival seeking to reclaim the values of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Voters in Iran go to the polls again today to decide who will become the Islamic country's next president.

Iran will hold the first runoff presidential election in its history between political veteran Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran’s hard-line mayor, election officials said today.

Iran’s presidential elections seemed almost certain to require a second round as the favourite contender, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, appeared unlikely today to garner the 50% of votes required to avoid a run-off round.

IRANIANS went to the polls yesterday in a high-stakes election shaping up as the closest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with young people disillusioned by the theocracy calling for a boycott of the balloting.