TEHRAN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced on Wednesday that over 170,000 forces will be deployed to ensure security for the upcoming presidential election, state news agency IRNA reported.
Speaking on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet meeting in Tehran, Vahidi detailed the measures in place to secure the 14th presidential election, scheduled for June 28.
Vahidi said the forces mainly comprised police and Basij forces, a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Vahidi expressed confidence that the election would proceed smoothly, noting that similar precautions had ensured the security of the two rounds of the 12th parliamentary elections held on March 1 and May 10.
Iran's 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19 in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.
The candidates for the upcoming election include Alireza Zakani, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Masoud Pezeshkian, Saeed Jalili, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi. ■
