Ali Larijani
Supporters of presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi hold signs during a rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. Iran's clerical vetting committee has allowed just seven candidates for the Friday, June 18, ballot, nixing prominent reformists and key allies of President Hassan Rouhani. The presumed front-runner has become Ebrahim Raisi, the country's hard-line judiciary chief who is closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
EXPLAINER: Iran vote to determine next president, direction

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 17, 2021 02:59 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 29, 2017, file photo, Iranian cleric and presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi, center, stands among his supporters, during a campaign rally in Tehran, Iran. Raisi, a prominent hard-line cleric who now serves as Iran's judiciary chief, registered Saturday, May 15, 2021, to run in Iran's upcoming presidential election. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
Iran's hard-line judiciary chief registers presidential run

By Jon Gambrell May. 15, 2021 12:49 AM EDT

Revolutionary Guard Gen. Saeed Mohammad, who once headed the paramilitary force's Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, shows his identification document while registering his name as a candidate for the June 18 presidential elections at the elections headquarters of the Interior Ministry in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Iran opened registration Tuesday for potential candidates in the country's June presidential election, kicking off the race as uncertainty looms over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers and tensions remain high with the West. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Registration opens for hopefuls in Iran's presidential vote

By Nasser Karimi And Jon Gambrell May. 11, 2021 12:01 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 28, 2020 file photo, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks after being elected as speaker of the parliament, in Tehran, Iran. Qalibaf said Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining a growing list of top Iranian officials infected in the Middle East's worst outbreak. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Iran parliament speaker contracts virus as deaths surge

Oct. 28, 2020 05:32 AM EDT

Police stand guard outside a mosque during a lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, March, 3, 2020. Some mosques were allowed to remain open in Pakistan on Friday, the Muslim sabbath when adherents gather for weekly prayers, even as the coronavirus pandemic spread and much of the country had shut down. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Mosques stay open in Pakistan even as virus death toll rises

By Kathy Gannon Apr. 03, 2020 06:08 AM EDT

Member of Hevra Kadisha, an organization which prepares bodies of deceased Jews for burial according to Jewish tradition, waits during a funeral of a Jewish man who died from coronavirus in the costal city of Ashkelon, Israel, Thursday, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Iran parliament speaker, Israeli health minister have virus

By Amir Vahdat And Ilan Ben Zion Apr. 02, 2020 03:12 PM EDT