IRAN: Voters wait up to 2 1/2 hours to cast ballots

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Droves of voters endured long lines in stifling temperatures to cast ballots in a critical presidential election today that could reshape Iran’s domestic and foreign policies.

Iranians began lining up at polling stations as early as 90 minutes before the start of voting this morning to try to beat crowds. Officials late this afternoon extended voting by two hours until 8 p.m. or later. Official results may not be announced until Saturday.

The election, taking place amid a time of great economic worry here, pits incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a soft-spoken former prime minister who has been out of public life for 20 years and remains a blank slate.

Beyond bread-and-butter concerns, the election hinges on basic questions of national identity: whether Iran should serve as a pious base of Islamic resistance to the West or whether it should moderate its social and international policies 30 years after a cataclysmic revolution.

-- Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim, reporting from Tehran.

Full story: Iranians endure long wait at polls in presidential vote

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