Leader urges strong turnout in presidential elections

Iranians are heading to the polls to cast their ballots for their next president following the martyrdom of their former President Ebrahim Raeisi, in a tragic helicopter crash. 

Iran's Election Headquarters has set up over 58,000 polling stations nationwide in preparation for the 14th Iranian presidential election on 28 June.

Speaking to a large number of reporters after casting his ballot at a polling station set up in Tehran Hosseinieh Imam Khomeini, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution urged Iranians to turn out to vote as a "definite necessity" for their country.

He said that the people's turnout and an increase in number of voters is a definite necessity for the Islamic Republic.

"In the essence of this system, the presence of the people is taken into account. Also, the durability of the Islamic Republic and its honor and reputation in the world depend on the presence of the people," Ayatollah Khamenei said.