DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran's supreme leader issued a thinly veiled warning Tuesday to the sole reformist candidate in the country's upcoming presidential election, saying anyone who believes ''all ways to progress'' come from the United States shouldn't be supported.
While often speaking in parables like many Iranian politicians, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to directly undercut the candidacy of 69-year-old heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian, who has aligned himself with officials from the administration of former President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani helped reach Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord Pezeshkian has fully embraced in contrast with his five hard-line opponents, who want an agreement fully on Iran's terms.
Khamenei also called for ''maximum'' turnout for Friday's vote, which analysts say could support Pezeshkian. Already, the doctor's rallies have drawn large crowds in major cities, though it remains unclear whether his candidacy alone would be enough to push an apathetic public to vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Khamenei who died in a helicopter crash in May.
''Some politicians in our country believe they must kowtow to this power or that power, and it's impossible to progress without sticking to famous countries and powers," Khamenei said in a speech marking the Shiite holiday of Eid al-Ghadir. ''Some think like that. Or they think that all ways to progress pass through America. No, such people can't'' run the country well, he said.
Khamenei's comments in his hourlong speech drew repeated cries of ''Death to America, death to Israel'' from a raucous crowd. The 85-year-old Khamenei had to urge the crowd to quiet themselves several times during his remarks.
Khamenei's call comes after a parliamentary election that saw a record low turnout earlier this year. Voters across the capital, Tehran, who have spoken with The Associated Press have expressed widespread apathy over the election as Iran faces an economy crushed by Western sanctions and after widespread anti-government protests in recent years, particularly after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini and women refusing to wear the country's mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
Pezeshkian, little known to the general public before registering for the campaign, has drawn large crowds in Tehran and other major cities. Among his most-prominent allies is former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led negotiations for the nuclear deal.
Khamenei's remarks also can be seen as a warning to Zarif and even Rouhani himself, whose former administration has been blasted by hard-liners in the time since the collapse of the deal in 2018 after then-U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal. Since then, Iran has advanced its program to enrich uranium up to weapons-grade levels while also hampering the ability of international inspectors to monitor it.
