Moderate Cleric Leads In Iranian Presidential Race

Preliminary results today from Iran’s presidential election showed a landslide victory for a moderate cleric whose triumph would mean a defeat for hard-line mullahs who have ruled since the 1979 Islamic revolution, state-run radio reported.

Tehran radio said Mohammad Khatami had received more than 6 million of the nearly 9 million votes counted from Friday’s election.

His main challenger, the arch-conservative Parliament Speaker Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, received only about 2.5 million, according to the radio.

The radio said that about one-third of the 31,400 polling stations had been counted. Final results are expected early Sunday.

The winner will replace President Hashemi Rafsanjani, who by law must step down in August after two terms.