Iran prepares to vote for a president
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani staked his political future on opening Iran ever so slightly to the outside world and overcoming hard-liners’ opposition to secure a historic nuclear deal in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions. He’ll soon find out if voters think it’s enough to keep him in the job.
The68-year-old cleric, a moderatewithin Iran’s politicalsystem, has history onhis side as Iranians vote forpresident Friday. No incumbentpresident has failedto win re-election since1981, when Ayatollah AliKhamenei, the current supremeleader and most powerfulman in Iran, becamepresident himself.
Political analysts and the scant polling data that’s available suggest Mr. Rouhani will come out on top among the four candidates left running, though an outright win is by no means assured.
His supporters streamed into downtown Tehran streets thick with police for rallies that lasted into the early hours Thursday, just ahead of a 24-hour no-campaigning period before the vote.
Mr. Rouhani’s stiffest challenge comes from his main rival, hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, a law professor and former prosecutor who heads an influential religious charitable foundation with vast business holdings. He is seen by many as close to Mr. Khamenei, and has even been talked about as a possible successor to him.
Palestinians protest
JERUSALEM— An Israelisettler whose car was caughtup in a pro-Palestinianstreet demonstration in theWest Bank on Thursday openedfire on the protesters,killing a 23-year-old Palestinianman and woundinga news photographer.
Theprotest, held in supportof Palestinian prisonerson a hunger strike that hasnow lasted 32 days, was oneof several marred by violencerecently.
Israelispointed to video imagesshowing the settler’scar, a small silver hatchback,being pounded byrocks and surrounded by dozensof demonstrators. Fortheir part, Palestinians accusedthe settler of firing needlesslywhen the Israeli armywas already dispersingthe crowd.
Attacker was flagged
BERLIN— Anis Amri, the Tunisian man who killed 12 people in an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin in December, had been flagged weeks earlier as a high-level drug dealer, according to a newly discovered police document that has caused an uproar in Germany.
Thedocument, which wasuncovered recently duringa review by the Berlincity government, has induceda new round of anguishedquestioning in Germanyabout whether the country’sworst terrorist attackin decades could have beenprevented.
Also in the world …
Thenumber of suspected casesof Ebola has risen to 18 fromnine in nearly a week inan isolated part of DemocraticRepublic of Congo, wherethree have died from thedisease since April 22. … PresidentRodrigo Duterte, whohas overseen a deadly campaignto eradicate drug usein the Philippines, has nowordered a strict public banon smoking and called oncitizens to help the local authoritiesapprehend smokers.… The InternationalCourt of Justice orderedPakistan on Thursdayto stay the execution of anIndian naval officer convictedof espionage, the latestdevelopment in a highprofilecase that has further strainedrelations in an alreadytense region.