In the days leading up to Iran’s parliamentary elections on Friday, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials have been crisscrossing their country to issue stern warnings against a vast Western conspiracy, driven by panic, to undermine the vote. The official news media have amplified the campaign: “U.S. Dreads Iranians’ Turnout in Elections,” read one typical banner on Press TV, the state-run English-language vehicle…And Ayatollah Khamenei appears to be increasingly unpopular, with some conservatives breaking a taboo by criticizing him openly..At the same time, most analysts say the government will report a turnout of 60 percent or higher, regardless of what happens on Friday.
