Iran goes to the polls with voter apathy high: ‘I don’t want anything to do with a system of oppression’

As the country goes to the ballot box to replace the late hardline president Ebrahim Raisi, Kim Sengupta hears from young people angered by situation at home, but also worried about what Iran may face from the US if Trump returns to the White House

An Iranian woman votes at a polling station in Tehran (Reuters)

In a momentous year of elections around the world, there are unexpected polls taking place in Iran with little publicity abroad, but of great significance to the country, the region and beyond.

The unscheduled Iranian election follows the death of the president, Ebrahim Raisi, last month in a helicopter crash. It comes at a time when there is fear of a wider conflagration spreading across the Middle East out of the Gaza War.

After months of escalating artillery, rocket and missile exchanges across the Lebanese border, the prospect of a direct conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has close links to Tehran, is higher than ever, with other Iranian allies possibly joining the fight.