Egypt
What's driving Egypt towards Yemen?
Egypt's parliament is expected to vote this week on whether to authorise the armed forces to help defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by Yemen's Houthis if Riyadh requests its support.
Iran's Khamenei says turnout in presidential election was 'lower than expected
1 min Mena Today
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the turnout in the first round of the country's presidential election was "lower than expected", semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during the 35th anniversary of the death of the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, at Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran, Iran June 3, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the turnout in the first round of the country's presidential election was "lower than expected", semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Turnout was about 40%, Iran's interior ministry said - the lowest on record since the 1979 revolution.
"We hope that people's turnout for the second round will be important and a source of pride for the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said, calling upon Iranians to cast their ballot this coming Friday.
Friday's vote will be a tight race between lawmaker Massoud Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates, and former Revolutionary Guards member Saeed Jalili.
The election is to elect a successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Khamenei added that the lower-than-expected turnout was due to "several factors" and that claims that non-voters were against the Islamic Republic were "strongly mistaken".
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Michael Georgy and Alex Richardson
Related
Yemen
Houthis kill 53 at government training camp
Fifty-three people were killed and 200 were injured in an attack on Monday by the Iran-aligned Houthis on a government security forces training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province, according to the local authority, as fighting in the impoverished country intensifies.
Egypt
Egypt pledges support to Saudi Arabia
Egypt is ready to provide Saudi Arabia with the support it needs to defend its security and stability, the presidency said on Sunday, as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensify their attacks on the world's largest oil exporter.
Subscribe to our newsletter
