‘It’s irrelevant’: Iran’s record low election turnout shows little faith in process

‘When 60% do not come to the polls, there is a problem, people have a problem with us,’ reformist Masoud Pezeshkian said. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

If Tehran is holding its breath, it is not because of political tensions, but the smog that envelopes the traffic-clogged capital in summertime.

Ahead of Friday’s presidential runoff between hardliner Saeed Jalili and the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian – an election that has the potential to put Iran back on course to engage with the west– members of the young middle class sitting in Tehran’s Cafe Elie compete to express their disdain for the political process.