Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Supporters of Iranian president-elect Ebrahim Raisi celebrate after he won the presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 19, 2021. Initial results released Saturday propelled Raisi, a protege of the country's supreme leader, into Tehran’s highest civilian position. The vote appeared to see the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hard-line judiciary head wins Iran presidency in low turnout

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 19, 2021 02:21 AM EDT

A voter casts her ballot for the presidential election at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 18, 2021. Iranians voted Friday in a presidential election that a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed likely to win, leading to low turnout fueled by apathy and calls for a boycott. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In Iran's subdued election, many voters appear to stay home

By Isabel Debre Jun. 18, 2021 02:30 PM EDT

Voters register to cast their vote during the presidential election at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 18, 2021. Iran began voting Friday in a presidential election tipped in the favor of a hard-line protege of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fueling public apathy and sparking calls for a boycott in the Islamic Republic. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Apathy greets Iran presidential vote dominated by hard-liner

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 17, 2021 11:58 PM EDT

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

Iran election race narrows but fears persist of low turnout

By Isabel Debre Jun. 16, 2021 09:25 AM EDT

Masoumeh Eftekhari, six months pregnant and strolling through the shop-lined promenades of Tehran’s jam-packed Grand Bazaar, speaks with The Associated Press about the upcoming presidential elections, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, June 10, 2021. She pointed with astonishment to the skyrocketing prices of baby clothes. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Many Iranians fear vote will underscore their powerlessness

By Mohammad Nasiri Jun. 14, 2021 02:07 AM EDT

In this Wednesday, June 9, 2021 photo, a supporter of the presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi, currently judiciary chief, hold his posters during a campaign rally at the Takhti Stadium in Ahvaz, Iran. Around 5,000 of people have gathered in a football stadium in southeastern city of Ahvaz to support the Iranian hard-line presidential candidate, Iranian media reported. (Alireza Mohammadi/ISNA via AP)

Iran judiciary chief stages 1st campaign rally despite virus

By Amir Vahdat Jun. 10, 2021 05:38 AM EDT

FILE— In this Dec. 11, 2006, file photo, top cleric Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, center, speaks during a conference on the Holocaust with Rabbi Moishe Arye Friedman, left, from Austria, and Rabbi Ahron Cohen, right, from England, in Tehran, Iran. Mohtashamipour, a Shiite cleric who as Iran's ambassador to Syria helped found the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and lost his right hand to a book bombing reportedly carried out by Israel, died Monday, June 7, 2021, of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran cleric who founded Hezbollah, survived book bomb, dies

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 07, 2021 05:21 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

Iran says opposition leader tested positive for coronavirus

Nov. 15, 2020 02:37 PM EST
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian opposition leader who ran in a disputed 2009 presidential election and his activist wife have tested positive for the...

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2008 file photo, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, poses for a photograph in her office in Tehran, Iran. Reza Khandan, the husband of Sotoudeh told The Associated Press on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, that his wife began a hunger strike Tuesday seeking the release of political prisoners. Khandan said he feared it would exacerbate her chronic gastrointestinal and foot problems. Sotoudeh, a mother of two, was arrested in 2018 on charges of collusion and propaganda against the system and eventually was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. (AP Photo/Arash Ashourinia, File)

Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer begins hunger strike

Aug. 13, 2020 07:19 AM EDT

Forensic workers carry a body from a hotel downtown Bucharest, Romania, Friday, June 19, 2020. Gholamreza Mansouri, a former judge from Iran sought by his country to face corruption charges has died in unusual circumstances, Romanian media reported. Romanian police said only that a man had fallen from a high floor at a hotel in Bucharest, the Romanian capital, and was found dead. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Iranian ex-judge dies in Romania, falls from hotel window

By Vadim Ghirda Jun. 19, 2020 11:49 AM EDT

Rights groups seek prosecution of ex-Iranian judge in Europe

By David Rising Jun. 17, 2020 10:24 AM EDT
BERLIN (AP) — Journalist rights groups and Iranian dissidents are urging Romania not to deport a former Iranian official to his homeland to face corruption...

People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of the Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Monday, June 1, 2020, to protest against the recent killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, U.S.A., after being restrained by police officers on Memorial Day. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

US adversaries highlight unrest to undercut criticism

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 01, 2020 03:33 PM EDT

Two employees of Ski Dubai pack snow at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Dubai on Wednesday loosed its restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic, allowing movie theaters and other attractions to operate. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

Iran's newly elected parliament convenes despite pandemic

By Nasser Karimi May. 27, 2020 03:50 AM EDT

People sit in their cars watching a movie at a new drive-in cinema on a car parking area of the Milad telecommunications tower, as regular theaters are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, Friday, May 1, 2020. Iran is the region's epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Coronavirus returns long-banned drive-in movies to Iran

By Mehdi Fattahi And Nasser Karimi May. 05, 2020 02:11 AM EDT