Moderate candidate in Iran’s presidential election concedes loss to hard-line judiciary chief

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians have voted in a presidential election dominated by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s hard-line protege after the disqualification of his strongest competition. That fueled apathy that left some polling places largely deserted despite pleas to support the Islamic Republic at the ballot box. Opinion polling by state-linked organizations indicated that judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi — who is already under U.S. sanctions — was the front-runner in a field of only four candidates. Former Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati is running as the moderate candidate but hasn’t inspired the same support as outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, who is term-limited from seeking the office again. Hemmati conceded the loss to the hard-line judiciary chief in an Instagram post.