Voting time of Iran presidential election extended 

Iran’s Interior Ministry extended voting hours in the presidential election on Friday due to higher-than-expected turnout. 

Polling stations, which opened at 8 am, were initially scheduled to close after 10 hours but will now remain open until 8 pm nationwide.

Over 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote at approximately 59,000 polling stations. 

The election, originally set for next year, was moved up following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May. 

The crash, which occurred in northwestern Iran, also claimed the lives of Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others.

The candidates vying for the presidency include Saeed Jalili, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Masoud Pezeshkian. 

Two other candidates, Alireza Zakani and Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, withdrew from the race earlier this week.