Mohammad Reza Naqdi, commander of Iran’s paramilitary Basij forces

While there has been considerable speculation — much in the form of polls — about which of the eight Presidential candidates is in the lead in the run-up to the June 14 election, the question that nobody can answer is what the turnout will be on the day.

A low turnout would indicate that Iranians are either apathetic about the election or that they feel that the regime will manipulate the results, and so there is no point in voting.

Amid this uncertainty, senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Basij leaders have warned this week that Iran’s “enemies” were attempting to interfere in the Presidential election.

The Deputy Commander of the Guards’ Ground Forces cautioned that Iran must beware of the enemy’s “careful manipulation” of the election.

“Today, we are on the eve of an election that will decide the fate of the country, and we must be fully aware so that the enemy does not exploit the space of the election,” he warned.

The commander of the Basij, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, said that Iranians could help defeat the enemy by turning out en masse to vote in the elections.

Naghdi said that, in fact, Iran’s enemies would be “astonished” on June 14 and would face another heavy defeat, because the Iranian people would create a political epic.

The deputy commander of the Guards’ political wing, Rasul Sanai Rad, also urged a high turnout, saying that this showed the national might of Iran and also indicated the level of trust people felt in the system.

The Supreme Leader’s representative in the IRGC, Hojatoleslam Ali Saeedi, told people in Arak last week that a large turnout would demonstrate national might and sovereignty, but moreover would guarantee that the system’s legitimacy was preserved and would “remove threats against the Iranian nation”.