DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday called for a “maximum” voter turnout in this week's presidential election to “defeat our enemies” and criticized politicians who believe all good things come from the United States.
While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not name any specific candidates, his comments are seen as a direct undermine to the election's only reformist candidate, 69-year-old heart surgeon Massoud Pezeshkian, who in recent speeches has called on Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and to step up outreach to the West.
“Anyone who is even slightly opposed to the revolution and the Islamic system will have no use for you,” Khamenei said. “Those who are obsessed with the United States and think that they cannot make even one step forward in their country without the support of the United States will not be good colleagues for you.”
Khamenei's remarks during the hour-long speech prompted repeated chants of “death to America, death to Israel” from the rowdy crowd that had gathered to celebrate the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir. The 85-year-old Khamenei repeatedly urged the crowd to quiet down throughout his speech.
Friday's election came after Iran's hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
Khamenei's call came after parliamentary elections earlier this year saw record turnout. Voters in the capital Tehran who spoke to The Associated Press expressed widespread disinterest in the elections given Iran's economy has been wrecked by Western sanctions and anti-government protests in recent years, particularly over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and women's refusal to wear the hijab, a headscarf required in the country.
Pezeshkian, who was little known to the public before registering to campaign, drew large audiences to speeches in Tehran and other major cities.
Pezeshkian is also embracing symbols from past campaigns by popular reformists seeking to change Iran's theocracy from within. His campaign slogan, “For Iran,” is a call to nationalism rather than religion, reminiscent of an earlier campaign slogan used by reformist former President Mohammed Khatami.
Pezeshkian has also been photographed wearing a green headscarf, in an apparent attempt to associate herself with the 2009 Green Movement protests that swept across Iran after a contentious vote and bloody crackdown that saw hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected.
Pezeshkian did not immediately comment on Khamenei's remarks, but they were timed to give his opponents ammunition ahead of the final televised debate before the election, scheduled to take place immediately after Khamenei's comments.
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