WASHINGTON — The United States does not expect any “fundamental change” in Iran regardless of who wins the second round of presidential elections and does not consider the first round to have been free and fair, the State Department said Monday.
Reformist candidate Masud Pezeshkian and conservative Said Jalili will vie for the Iranian presidency on July 5, after leading in the first round results, marked by the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“These elections in Iran are neither free nor fair,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“We have no expectation that these elections, regardless of the outcome, will lead to a fundamental change in Iran’s leadership or make the Iranian regime more respectful of human rights and provide more dignity to its citizens,” he said.
Patel also cast doubt on the already low official turnout figures.
“Even the Iranian government’s official figures on turnout, like most other things related to the Iranian regime, are unreliable,” he said.
Iranian authorities say that just over 40% of the 61 million voters cast ballots and that more than a million votes were spoiled.
The election was scheduled for 2025 but was brought forward following the death of ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.
Source: With information from AFP
