TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s supreme leader called on Wednesday for a high turnout in this week’s presidential election, urging voters to head to the polls and send a message to the United States – but stopped short of saying which candidate he prefers of the four remaining in the race.
In a televised speech, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States and its allies, including the “pathetic prime minister of the Zionist regime,” or Israel, are closely watching the vote on Friday.
He called the election a “great popular epic,” saying that while the region is “drowned in anxiety,” Iran is “peacefully and safely holding an election.”
“From the U.S. state apparatuses to European powers and regional countries aligned with America, to the pathetic prime minister of the Zionist regime, all are closely watching (the vote) and how and in what spirit” the Iranians will cast ballots, Khamenei said.
President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, is seeking re-election in a vote that will largely serve as a referendum on his outreach to the West, which culminated in the 2015 nuclear deal Iran struck with world powers. Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of some economic sanctions.