Leader hails election race as Iran gears up for presidential polls

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has hailed televised debates among presidential candidates ahead of Iran's June 28 election, saying they give people familiarity with the opinions of the six contenders.  

The Leader made the remarks on Saturday morning in a meeting with the country’s judicial officials, after Iranians watched overnight the third of five debates planned in the days before the vote to replace President Ehrahim Raeisi who lost his life in a helicopter crash.

Ayatollah Khamenei, however, cautioned the candidates against making statements that could delight Iran's enemies.

"My advice is that these discussions that the candidates have together on TV or the statements they make either in public or individually in order to overcome the rival should not contain anything that makes our enemies happy," the Leader said.

"The words that are uttered should not please the enemy of the country, the nation and the system. This is not permissible," he said. 

"The assumption is that all the candidates love Iran and the Islamic Republic, since they want to become president in this system and to serve the people. Therefore, they should not speak in such a way that pleases the enemy."

In their third debate, the candidates presented their blueprints on the country's cultural and social issues. It followed the first held on Monday and the second staged on Thursday, which centered on economic and socio-economic issues respectively.

The Leader met the country’s judicial officials ahead of the anniversary of the martyrdom of Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti and his 72 companions, which has been designated as Judiciary Day in Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the Judiciary must work in a way that the public would see it as the house of justice and the place where rights are preserved.

“The judicial system’s main purpose must be to work bravely to ensure that justice is served, without having discrimination or privileges for any figure and that is a difficult role,” he said.

He applauded the progress made in the Judiciary toward a program-based system, saying the improvement should be performed in a way that can be witnessed and sensed in the country.

The Leader referred to the issue of some detainees without a verdict as a matter that is resolved very slowly and advised the judicial authorities that it should be handled faster so that no one remains long in jail.

He also described as an unresolved problem the issue of detainment in cases of debt and said this problem should be settled as it might be not possible for the detainee to settle their debt no matter how long they stay in jail.

And finally, Ayatollah Khamenei advised the judges to make their verdicts according to internal and Islamic laws and not according to the West’s human rights doctrine.

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