Iran’s highest leader said on Wednesday that any disrupters of national elections, which are less than two weeks away, would receive a “slap in the face,” underscoring the political tensions lurking behind the vote. The warning came in a widely publicized speech by the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to graduating cadets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the powerful paramilitary force, in which he emphasized that security was the most important issue in the May 19 election, when Iranians will choose a new president and city and village councils. Ever since unprecedented antigovernment protests after the disputed 2009 presidential vote, elections have become delicate moments in Iran.
The political atmosphere before this year’s election seems relatively free and open on the surface, in part to ensure that many Iranians turn out to vote for a set of strictly vetted candidates.
But the candidates still provide significant choices compared with elections in many other Middle Eastern countries.
The incumbent president, Hassan Rouhani, promotes economic and social freedoms. His main opponent, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the country’s wealthiest religious foundation, opposes many such ideas and wants Iran to become more self-sufficient.
Full Article: Iran Leader Vows ‘Slap in the Face’ for Election Disruptions – The New York Times.