Close allies: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the man who was expected to succeed him, President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopted crash on May 19 2024.
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Live News
Moderates are likely to be shut out of the race for the presidency, now seen as a stepping stone to Iran’s top job.
Foregone conclusion: a Russian soldier casts his vote at a polling station in a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, March 2024.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
A selection of our coverage of the conflict from the past fortnight.
The people’s choice (although candidates for Iran’s parliamentary elections have all been pre-approved by the religious authorities).
EPA-EFE/Abedin Taherkenareh
Emily L. Blout, American University School of Communication
President is not the most important leadership role in Iran. The election is not completely democratic. That said, there’s a pretty competitive contest happening.
Iranians want their country to remain open to economic and social opportunities, including by looking to the West.
Stella Morgana
Rouhani’s conservative rivals are exploiting growing pessimism about the economy, increasing the odds that someone more hostile to the West might become Iran’s next president.
Can Rouhani shake his shadow?
Raheb Homavandi/Reuters
Over recent months, Iran has become the largest source of asylum seekers arriving in Australia, with more than 5,000 having arrived this year, amounting to about one-third of the total. While the debate…
‘One hand’: Once again it is the military which is calling the shots in Egypt.
Zeinab Mohamed via Creative Commons
In the past four weeks, a major political earthquake seems to have hit the Middle East, where three key regional constituencies: Iran, Qatar and Egypt, experienced more or less unexpected changes of leadership…
Safe pair of hands: Rowhani in nuclear negotiations in 2003.
Mojtaba Salimi via Creative Commons
In the past 10 days big crowds of Iranians have taken to the streets to celebrate two things. The outpouring of joy for the unexpected first-round victory of Hassan Rowhani in the presidential election…
Word of god: the Qur'an is the source of much of the Sharia..
Crystalina via Creative Commons
As Iranians go to the polls to elect a new president, new research suggests they have misgivings about the role of religious figures in the government of the country. But, as the US-based Pew Research…