And Amirali Hajizadeh, who as head of the aerospace unit with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a former colleague of military commander Qassem Soleimani, assassinated by a US drone strike last month, echoed his calls, describing each vote cast as a “missile into the heart of America”. Voting got underway at 8 am local time (4.30am GMT) and will continue till 6 pm (2.30pm GMT) – with the Ayatollah telling voters it was their “religious duty” to cast a vote. Thousands of potential candidates are disqualified, meaning the result is unlikely to influence the country’s tense relationship with the United States.
However, he gave a clear indication of the damage a mass boycott would inflict during a speech in Tehran, in which he also launched a stinging attack on the US.
He said: “Elections are a source for strengthening the country.
“Look at how US propaganda seeks to separate the people from the Islamic system. They create think tanks to plot this.
“They seek to distance the Iranian youth from the Islamic system, but they won’t succeed.”
The Ayatollah warned: “Enemies and friends are watching. Enemies want to see the result of these economic problems, the Westerners’ deceit in their promises to us, and the US pressures on the people.
“Our friends watch worriedly, but we always tell them not to worry. The Iranian nation knows what it’s doing.”
JUST IN: At least EU like me! Varadkar ‘eyeing up Brussels role’
In a reference to the Farsi word for “council”, he added: “One manifestation of strength is having a strong Majlis. The more participation there is in the election, the stronger the Majlis will be.
“This is one factor for strengthening the Majlis.”
Mr Hajizadeh added: “Each vote put into the ballot box, is a missile into the heart of America.”
A total of 7,148 candidates are standing for the country’s 290-seat parliament.
However, the Guardian Council has ensured hardliners dominate the field, removing 6,850 moderates and leading conservatives and permitting voters a choice mostly between hardline and low-key conservative candidates loyal to Khamenei.
In some areas, voters have the option of casting their ballot using their fingerprint, a move Deputy Interior Minister Jamal Orf told IRNA news agency was in line with measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Washington’s withdrawal in 2018 from the Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action (JPOCA), aimed at preventing Iran developing nuclear weapons, and subsequent reimposition of economic sanctions, has hurt pragmatists who supported the pact.
Tensions between Iran and the United States have increased dramatically since the killing of Gen Soleimani, at the Baghdad airport on January 3.
Iran hit back five days later by attacking US targets in Iraq with domestically built ballistic missiles, in a strike which killed nobody, but which caused brain injuries in more than 100 soldiers.