Iran's presidential candidates debate sanctions, nuclear deal before runoff

Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their plans about reviving a nuclear deal with world powers.

It was the second, and last, live debate on state television pitting little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, ahead of Friday's runoff election aimed at choosing a successor for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

Pezeshkian said that sanctions imposed by the West have badly hurt Iran's economy. He cited a 40 per cent inflation over the past four years and the increasing poverty rates. We live in a society in which many are begging on the streets," he said.

Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon, said his administration would immediately work towards trying to get sanctions lifted and vowed to repair the economy. He also said he would find a solution to revive a ...