TEHRAN – Presidential elections in Iran opened at 7:00 a.m. local time on Friday, June 18, and will last until midnight.

Voting can be extended for two more hours if necessary.

Four candidates are competing for the presidential post. 

Senior officials, including Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the heads of the three branches of government, cast their votes in the capital Tehran.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran was among a few countries in the world whose elections attract international attention.

“People should be mindful that the whole world is today focused on the ballot boxes and the people’s queues to cast their world. God willing, we will act in a way that it will make our friends across the world happy and frustrate enemies,” Rouhani stated, according to the Press TV.

He added, “There are some countries in the world that their elections are a focus of attention in the world and they want to know who is the person who will be elected. One of these countries is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has been so over the past 42 years and this is so today,” Rouhani added. 

Political and health officials have stressed that sanitary protocols are being strictly observed in all polling stations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.