IRANIANS voted in a snap election today to replace late president Ebrahim Raisi, with the race’s sole reformist candidate vowing to seek “friendly relations” with the West in an effort to energise supporters.

Voters face a choice between hardline candidates and the little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon.

As has been the case since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and those calling for radical change have been barred from running, while the vote itself will have no oversight from internationally recognised monitors.

Mr Pezeshkian’s remarks come after he and his allies were targeted by a veiled warning from the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over their outreach to the US.

Mr Pezeshkian’s comments, made after he cast his ballot, appeared to be aimed at boosting turnout as public apathy has grown pervasive in the Islamic Republic following years of economic woes and mass protests.

He seemed to hope that invoking the possibility of Iran emerging from its isolation would motivate people otherwise disillusioned with Iranian politics.

A higher turnout typically aids those like Mr Pezeshkian in the reformist movement, which seeks to change its Shiite theocracy from within.

While Iran’s 85-year-old Mr Khamenei has the final say on all matters of state, presidents can bend the country’s policies toward confrontation or negotiation with the West.

However, given the record-low turnout in recent elections, it remains unclear just how many Iranians took part in today’s poll.

Mr Pezeshkian, who voted at a hospital near the capital, Tehran, appeared to have that in mind as he responded to a journalist's question about how Iran would interact with the West if he was president.

“God willing, we will try to have friendly relations with all countries except Israel,” the 69-year-old candidate said.

He also responded to a question about a renewed crackdown on women over the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, less than two years after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked nationwide demonstrations and violent security force response.

“No inhuman or invasive behaviour should be made against our girls, daughters and mothers,” he said.