Iran’s supreme leader calls for ‘maximum’ turnout for presidential election as voter apathy high

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader is calling for “maximum” voter turnout in Friday’s presidential election to “overcome the enemy.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comments in a speech Tuesday marking the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir. He drew repeated calls from onlookers of “Death to America! Death to Israel!” Friday’s election comes after a May helicopter crash that killed Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Khamenei. The call comes after a parliamentary election that saw a record low turnout earlier this year.