Two Iranian Candidates Withdraw Before Election

Ahead of Iran's presidential election, two ultraconservative candidates, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi and Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, have withdrawn from the race. Their exits are seen as efforts to consolidate the hardliner vote and strengthen the revolutionary front. This leaves four candidates in the race, with analysts predicting a three-way contest primarily between hardliners Saeed Jalili and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, and reformist Masoud Pezeshkian. The election follows the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, with the outcome expected to influence the succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Voter apathy is high amid economic difficulties and political tensions, both domestically and internationally.