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TEHRAN — Outside the iconic, blue-tiled Hosseinieh Ershad building, at 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 26, voters in the Iranian capital were lined up and waiting for the moment the blue gate would open.
The line was not huge, but for an early morning vote in a city like Tehran, on a Friday, long lines were expected. As the gate was unlocked at 8:00 a.m., everyone shouted, "Allahu ma salli Ala Mohammad va Al Mohammad" — the typical phrase Iranians use to welcome anything. "Praise upon [Prophet] Mohammad and his progeny."
