Ayatollah urges Iranians to vote

Iran’s supreme leader told voters it was their patriotic duty to vote in parliamentary elections yesterday to send a message of national unity in the showdown with the West over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the appeal as Iranians voted for candidates seeking a place in the 290-seat parliament. Results today are expected to show gains by hard-liners at the expense of more moderate MPs.