Presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi gestures after he votes during presidential elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran June 18, 2021.
Hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi has a big lead in Iran's presidential race, an interior ministry official said on Saturday, after rivals conceded defeat in a contest in which millions of Iranians participated.
The official said in televised remarks that Raisi had so far won 17.8 million votes. The official said more than 28 million Iranians out of 59 million eligible voters had cast ballots.
State media earlier announced that Raisi had won, as his only moderate rival congratulated him. (Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; editing by John Stonestreet)
