'Become Stronger': Iranians Urged To Vote As Mideast Tensions Soar

Qom, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Feb, 2024) In the Iranian shrine city of Qom, huge street banners remind voters to head to the polls in Friday's parliamentary elections, held as the Gaza war stokes middle East tensions.

Voters in the Islamic republic will pick a new parliament for another four years, as well as members of the Assembly of Experts in charge of electing Iran's supreme leader.

The vote comes amid a biting economic crisis and will be the first since Iran was rocked by nationwide protests over the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.

Large posters around Qom -- around 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of the capital Tehran -- show Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in front of a ballot box, with a message urging people to vote in order for Iran "to become stronger".

Islamic theology student Mohammad Jafari said he will heed the call, voicing hope that the election will strengthen Iran at a time its arch enemy Israel is fighting a devastating war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"The elections will strengthen both the country's internal and international standing," said 27-year-old Jafari in Qom, a centre of Shiite Muslim shrines and home to renowned religious scholars.

The Gaza war broke out after the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas militants claimed about 1,160 lives in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's military campaign has killed at least 29,782 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.