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A minibus sent to collect votes from Sunni worshippers at a grand mosque in Saravan, in Iran's eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, was set on fire, according to rights groups.
An ethnic rights advocacy group, the Baloch Campaign, reported that the bus "left the area without collecting any votes." Apparently, the blaze was put out enabling the vehicle to drive away.
This incident follows last week's violence when unidentified assailants attacked a vehicle transporting election boxes in Sistan-Baluchestan Province just minutes after voting concluded in the first round of presidential elections at midnight on June 29.
The assault reportedly resulted in the deaths of two security personnel and injuries to several others, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA. Additionally, one of the assailants was also killed.
Sistan-Baluchestan experienced significant unrest during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, recording the highest number of casualties among Iran's 31 provinces.
The province remains a hotspot for protests fueled by unemployment, water shortages, and security policies perceived as targeting the Baluchi minority.
Out of 2,547,000 ballots counted so far, Pezeshkian is leading with 1,263,000 votes (49.6%), followed by Saeed Jalili with 1,244,000 votes (48.8%), according to the first official figures released by the Interior Ministry.
The official figures also put the number of invalid votes at 38,800.
While no official result has been declared yet, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News says Masoud Pezeshkian has taken the lead over his ultraconservative contender Saeed Jalili in Iran's runoff presidential election.
Raja News, a media outlet close to Jalili, also reports that Pezeshkian is expected to win with nearly 16 million votes.
Citing "statistical analysis and field estimates", Raja News said almost 13 million people have voted for Jalili.
The figures, however, are not official, and Iran's Interior Ministry is expected to announce the final results in coming hours.
The vote counting process has started in polling stations across the country, and the results are expected to be announced gradually by the Interior Ministry, the Election Headquarters spokesman said.
Political prisoners in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison and Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj abstained from voting for the runoff presidential elections, just as they did last week.
“More than a hundred political prisoners [in Evin prison] refused to participate in this unfair and unjust process, standing firm in their pro-freedom ideals,” former political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian wrote on X.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, reformist politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, and former MP Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani are among the prisoners who boycotted the elections. Others include Abdollah Momeni, Mohammad Najafi, Alireza Beheshti Shirazi, Reza Shahabi, Rasoul Bodaghi, Behzad Ghorbanian Nejad, Amir Salar Davoodi, Vida Rabbani, Sepideh Gholian, Golrokh Iraee, and Maryam Yahyaavi.
In recent weeks, numerous dissidents, from those in prison to those active on social media, have publicly declared that the upcoming election is a manipulated facade rather than a genuine democratic process.
Amirsalar Davoudi, a lawyer incarcerated in Evin Prison, denounced the election as a "selection" in a letter from prison. He refused to participate, asserting that the Islamic Republic follows a path of "lies and deceit."
Former political prisoner Abolfazl Ghadiani also called for a boycott of the election. He emphasized that solving Iran's problems requires transforming the "ruling religious dictatorship" into a "democratic secular republic" through "civil and political resistance."
Ghadiani’s stance reflects a broader sentiment among activists who believe superficial electoral changes are insufficient and that only a complete overhaul of the political system can address the country's root issues.
