Rafsanjani wins crucial backing in Iran election

Sify.com:

The frontrunner in the turbulent race for Iran's presidency, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, won high profile support from the oil and nuclear sectors in an election that appears set to go into a second round.

As campaigning intensified ahead of Friday's vote, the leading cleric also removed his turban, had a haircut and watched a football match in a slick video designed to promote his sensitive, human side and lure last-minute support. READ MORE

The run-up to the poll, which will herald an end to the difficult reformist presidency of Mohammad Khatami, also saw more bomb attacks -- with new blasts reported to have shaken the southeastern city of Zahedan.

Khatami advised voters to be sceptical of promises of more freedoms -- a clear snipe at the campaigns of religious hardliners busy reinventing themselves as slick moderates.

Informal opinion polls are signalling that none of the eight candidates will be able to secure the more than 50 percent of the vote needed to win on June 17. In that case the top two would face a run-off on July 1.