TEHRAN – A surge of participation was seen among Iranian expatriates as they joined their compatriots in Iran to vote in the decisive presidential runoff election on Friday, July 5.

Hundreds of ballot boxes were set up in 95 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Australia. Iranians abroad showed higher participation in the runoff election compared to the first round, according to official figures.

In Canada however, the citizens of Iran were barred from voting in the elections for the second time, as Ottawa continued its stance from the first round on June 28th.

“We only had one country in the world that did not allow Iranians to exercise their voting rights, and that was Canada. Canada was the only country violating the rights of Iranians outside Iran. This is the same country that, a few days ago, entered into a firm agreement with terrorists and placed the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), a sacred institution recognized for fighting terrorism at the regional and global levels, on the terrorist list,” Iran’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri Kani told reporters on Friday after he was seen casting his vote at the foreign ministry. 

“It seems natural to me that terrorists are always opposed to people's rule and democracy. Here, Canada has actually established that path for itself, declaring companionship with terrorists one day and creating a barrier against democracy the next,” the top diplomat added. 

Iran to bring charges against individuals involved in harassment of voters

Iranian authorities are filing formal complaints against individuals harassing voters outside polling stations in several Western countries. 

These complaints stem from incidents during both rounds of the Iranian presidential election, where anti-Iran groups associated with terrorists, monarchists, and separatists targeted Iranian voters with verbal, sexual, and physical abuse in Europe, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.

Local authorities in Britain arrested six individuals during the first round of the Iranian presidential elections for attempting to physically harm voters. In Australia, five arrests were made during the second round as police increased security measures to also address harassment of voters with insults and profanities.

Despite police cooperation in most Western countries, Tehran is pursuing legal action against those who harassed voters to prevent similar instances in the future. 

The Iranian ambassador to Italy has reported submitting evidence of voter harassment to both the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local security authorities in Rome and Milan. “This is not something that the Islamic Republic can turn a blind eye to,” the envoy said. “We will make sure that anyone who dared to harm citizens will pay the price.”

The Iranian embassy in the UK has also announced the establishment of a dedicated office to collect evidence of attacks against Iranian citizens, which will be presented to police and used in legal proceedings. “All available evidence and documentation of violence, threats, and acts of hatred against Iranian citizens are being collected,” the embassy said in a statement. “We assure our dear compatriots in Britain that the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London will use all its power to support our dear compatriots and bring this case to a conclusion and punish the aggressors and violent terrorists and will take any necessary measures,” it added. 

More embassies in the West are reportedly joining their colleagues in Italy and the UK in the coming days. 

Analysts believe the anti-Iran groups’ outrageous and aggressive acts in the past two weeks are partly due to their constant failures to gain traction among Iranians.