Run-off Between Pezeshkian and Jalili Set for July 5

Iran will hold a run-off presidential election on July 5 after neither of the top candidates secured more than 50 per cent of votes in Friday's polls.

The election to replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash, has come down to a tight race between the only moderate candidate in a field of four hardliners.

According to the final results released by the ministry, with more than 24 million votes counted, moderate lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian is leading with over 10 million votes.

He is closely followed by hardline diplomat Saeed Jalili, who has garnered over 9.4 million votes.

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 were 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.

A similar scenario unfolded during the 2013 presidential election when neither candidate stepped aside, which ultimately facilitated opposition candidate Hassan Rouhani's victory.

This time, the conservative split could work to the advantage of Masoud Pezeshkian, a former health minister and prominent reformist politician.