Iranians choose a president on Friday in a tightly controlled election following Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash last month, with the outcome expected to influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top decision-maker.

With Iran’s supreme leader now 85, it is likely that the next president will be closely involved in the eventual process of choosing a successor to Khamenei, who has ensured candidates sharing his hardline views dominate the presidential contest, Reuters reported.

The election coincides with escalating regional tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, increased Western pressure on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, and growing domestic dissent over political, social, and economic crises.

However, the looming succession to the fiercely anti-Western Khamenei is the overriding concern among Iran’s clerical elite, Reuters reported.

The Guardian Council, a vetting body of clerics and jurists aligned to Khamenei, has approved five hardline and one low-profile moderate candidates from an initial pool of 80.

Iran’s presidential election comes after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month

Prominent among the hardliners are Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, parliament speaker and former head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator.

The sole moderate candidate, Massoud Pezeshkian, has the endorsement of Iran’s politically-sidelined reformist camp.

Khamenei has not backed any candidate publicly. However, his adviser Yahya Rahim Safavi has urged voters to elect “a president whose views do not conflict with those of the supreme leader,” state media reported.

“The people should choose a president who considers himself the second in command … The president should not create division,” said Safavi, a former chief commander of the Guards.

While the president’s role has a high international profile, real power rests with the supreme leader, who has the final say on state matters like foreign or nuclear policies and controls all branches of government, the military, media and the bulk of financial resources.

Raisi was widely seen as a potential successor to Khamenei, and his sudden death has sparked a race among hard liners seeking to influence the selection of Iran’s next top leader.

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