Green Movement Leader Boycotts Iran's Election

Mir Hossein Mousavi, leader of Iran's Green Movement, and his wife Zahra Rahnavard have refused to vote in the country's presidential election.

The couple, under house arrest since 2011, declined to vote when election officials brought a ballot box to them.

In an Instagram post, their daughter Narges Mousavi said, "For the information of friends, the agents asked today to bring a ballot box. My parents said that they will not participate in the election."

"We will not vote," they told the election official.

This decision comes amid controversy surrounding the campaign of candidate Masoud Pezeshkian.

Supporters of Pezeshkian had circulated rumors of Mousavi's endorsement, which the family strongly denied.

Mohammad Fazlikia, Narges Mousavi's husband, criticized the "instrumental use of Mir Hossein Mousavi's name" in campaigns.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, a reformist presidential candidate in 2009, has been under house arrest since 2011.

Kalameh news website, associated with the Green Movement, issued a statement emphasizing that any official position from Zahra Rahnavard and Mir Hossein Mousavi regarding the elections would only be valid if published through their platform.

The statement referenced a similar incident during the March parliamentary elections, where false claims were made and subsequently denied.

Iran opened polls on Friday for its 14th presidential election following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. 

The contenders are Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi from the fundamentalist faction, while Masoud Pezeshkian represents the reformist movement.

Two candidates, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Alireza Zakani, withdrew from the race to consolidate fundamentalist support. 

Despite expectations, neither Ghalibaf nor Jalili stepped down in favor of the other.