US official makes interventionist comments on Iran election

In response to a question on Iran's 14th presidential election, Patel told reporters on Monday that "these elections in Iran are not free and fair".

We do not expect that these elections to lead to a fundamental change in Iran’s direction, he claimed.

The American official said that the US is not in a position to confirm any turnout number or speculate on what the implications of that might mean for Iran.

When asked about holding the election in the US, he said, "The Iranians have conducted this kind of activity in the United States before, so this is nothing new".

Voters cast their ballots on June 28 to elect the successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who lost his life in a helicopter crash on May 19.

In statement number 28, Iran's election headquarters declared that the Guardians Council has verified the validity of the 14th presidential election.

Since no candidate achieved an outright majority in the election, Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, the two candidates with the highest votes, will compete in a runoff on July 5.

MNA/IRN