Iran’s supreme leader calls for ‘maximum’ turnout for election amid voter apathy

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called for ‘maximum’ voter turnout in Friday’s presidential election to ‘overcome the enemy’, denouncing politicians whom he described as believing that everything good comes from the US (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP)

Iran’s supreme leader has called for “maximum” voter turnout in this week’s presidential election to “overcome the enemy”, denouncing politicians whom 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, 69-year-old heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian.