Iran’s Presidential Race Opens as Loyalists Favored
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Iran’s presidential race got under way today as nominations opened for a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with loyalists close to the Islamic republic’s clerical leaders set to dominate.
Protests erupted after the last vote four years ago, amid allegations that ballot fraud cheated reformists of victory. With Iran at loggerheads with the U.S. over its nuclear program and its economy squeezed by sanctions, analysts say Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will seek to restrict the spectrum of candidates to avoid a repeat in the June 14 vote.