News about Hassan Rouhani

Iran is heading for a rare runoff election pitting a little-known 'reformist' against a hardline former nuclear negotiator following the lowest-ever poll turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. Masoud Pezeshkian, the ostensibly 'moderate' option, bested the ultra-conservative candidate Saeed Jalili but fell short of the 50 per cent needed to secure majority. Iran's interior ministry has confirmed the second round of voting will take place on July 5. Pezeshkian, 69, received 10.4 million votes while Jalili, 58, received 9.4 million of 24.5 million cast in Friday's election, though 61.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote on Friday. Low voter turnout is seen to reflect deepening public frustration following years of economic strife and political repression.

Elected president in 2021, he went on to lead the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels and launched a major drone-and-missile attack on Israel. Raisi's sudden death, along with Iran 's foreign minister and other officials in the helicopter crash Sunday in northwestern Iran, came as Iran struggles with internal dissent and its relations with the wider world. A cleric first, Raisi once kissed the Quran, the Islamic holy book, before the UN and spoke more like a preacher than a statesman when addressing the world. But he gained notoriety after he was appointed Deputy prosecutor of Tehran in 1985 before going on to serve on the prosecution committee which - under the orders of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - sentenced thousands of political prisoners to death.

The President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi's (pictured, main) 'life is at risk' after he was involved in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan. A frantic search mission is now underway after the aircraft, which was travelling in Iran's East Azerbaijan province near Jolfa, around 375 miles northwest of the capital Tehran, suffered a 'hard landing' on Sunday, according to Iranian state television. The helicopter was one of a convoy of three and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Friday prayer Imam Seyyed Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem and other high-ranking officials were also reportedly onboard with the president. All army and Iranian guard resources are currently being used in the search efforts for the helicopter.

According to the state-run IRNA news service, the Iranian Soraya satellite was launched into orbit at 460 miles (750 kilometers) above the Earth's surface with its three-stage Qaem 100 rocket. Although the satellite did not immediately know what it was doing, Isa Zarepour, the telecommunications minister, said the launch had a 110-pound (50 kg) payload. According to the report, the satellite launch was part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' space program alongside Iran's civilian space program, and that it hadn't reached its highest orbit yet. Alarms are ringing over the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, with the US recently alerting Iran's satellite program may be able to expedite the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Christiane Amanpour, 64, (left and inset) of CNN cancelled an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, 61, after he asked her to wear a headscarf. Amanpour, a Tehran girl who grew up, denied the proposal on Instagram: "We're in New York, where there is no rule or tradition regarding headcarves." When she interviewed former President Hassan Rouhani, she said she did not wear a headscarf, as she pointed out. Raisi is reportedly ordered it because it is the 'holy months of Muharram and Safar', and a aide aide arrived 40 minutes before the interview was scheduled to begin. 'The aide made it clear that the interview would not take place if I did not wear a headscarf,' she wrote. We walked away,' explains the author.' After the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, she was scheduled to speak with the Iranian leader about the protests and civil unrest in the region.

Iran has recalled former Manchester United No. 2 Carlos Quieroz to head the team for the World Cup in Qatar, with the Portuguese coach remarking that 'the family called me home.' Iran, ranked 22nd in the world and Asia's top-ranked team, competes in the World Cup for the first time, but the tournament has seen an uneventful few months. After reports of ill-discipline emerging in a training camp in Qatar, Quieroz' predecessor, Dragan Skocic, was fired in July.