Iran Presidential Election 2028

What this countdown tracks

Iran's 15th presidential election, expected in mid-June 2028 on the four-year cycle following the 5 July 2024 snap vote that elected reformist Masoud Pezeshkian after the death of incumbent Ebrahim Raisi in a May 2024 helicopter crash. Roughly 61 million eligible voters select the head of government from a slate vetted by the Guardian Council, with a runoff one week later if no candidate clears 50 percent in the first round.

About this election

Under the 1979 Constitution as amended in 1989, the President is elected directly for a four-year term, renewable once consecutively. The Guardian Council, half appointed by the Supreme Leader and half by the head of the judiciary, vets all candidacies — a filter that has historically disqualified the bulk of registered aspirants. The Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, retains ultimate authority over foreign and security policy through the Supreme National Security Council.

Pezeshkian's July 2024 election — won 53.7 to 44.3 percent over hardline candidate Saeed Jalili in the runoff — followed the lowest first-round turnout (39.9 percent) in any Iranian presidential election since 1979. His government has navigated the post-October-2024 Israeli strikes, the JCPOA expiration in October 2025, and the question of nuclear-enrichment escalation under intense regional and US pressure.

Key issues

The 2028 campaign — assuming a regular cycle — will weigh Pezeshkian's record on US sanctions and the post-JCPOA diplomatic track, the regional aftermath of the Israel–Iran direct exchanges and the post-Assad Syrian transition, the durability of the rial and chronic 30-plus-percent inflation, the post-Mahsa Amini hijab-law debate and the broader social-freedom demands surfaced by the 2022 protest cycle, and the succession question that hangs over Khamenei's clerical office.

Past results

• 2024 (snap): Masoud Pezeshkian 53.7% defeated Saeed Jalili 44.3% in the second round on 5 July; first round 28 June saw turnout of just 39.9%.
• 2021: Ebrahim Raisi 62.9% — turnout 48.8%, the lowest in Iranian presidential history at that point.
• 2017: Hassan Rouhani 57.1% defeated Ebrahim Raisi 38.3%.
• 2013: Hassan Rouhani 50.7% — single-round win.
• 2009: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 62.6% in the result that triggered the Green Movement protests.

How to follow

The Interior Ministry administers the election and publishes results via moi.ir; IRNA, Press TV and Tasnim provide official Persian and English coverage. International viewers should cross-reference BBC Persian, Iran International, Radio Farda and Reuters Tehran. Polling stations open 08:00 to typically extended late-night closes (Tehran time, GMT+3:30).

Related countdowns

Iran's 2028 vote sits in the Middle East / Asia electoral cluster with the Turkey presidential election, Egypt House of Representatives election and Israel Knesset election. For comparable presidential cycles see the South Korea presidential election.

FAQ

When is the Iran 2028 election? Expected mid-June 2028 (likely 16 or 23 June 2028) on the four-year cycle from Pezeshkian's July 2024 snap win. Who is running? Subject to Guardian Council vetting; reformist, principlist and hardline factions traditionally field candidates. Pezeshkian is constitutionally eligible for a second term. Why does this election matter globally? Iran is a key oil producer, a regional power across the Middle East, and the focal state of the nuclear non-proliferation question after the JCPOA's October 2025 expiration. Who really runs Iran? The President heads the executive branch but the Supreme Leader retains final authority over foreign, security and nuclear policy through the SNSC and the IRGC.