Sputnik - With Iran voting in presidential elections on Friday, many continue to speculate on Moscow's position on the matter; Russian political analyst Nikolai Kozhanov, for his part, said that actually, Moscow isn't taking a side.


In an interview with Sputnik Persian, Russian political analyst Nikolai Kozhanov said that Moscow is not particularly concerned about�the results of�the presidential elections in�Iran, which kicked off�on Friday.


Running for�the presidency are incumbent Hassan Rouhani, hardline cleric and former Attorney-General Ebrahim Raisi, former Vice-President Mostafa Hashemitaba and conservative candidate Mostafa Mir-Salim.

Any candidate who gains the support of�more than�50 percent of�voters will become the country's president.

However, if no candidate reaches this threshold, a run-off election will be carried out�between the two presidential hopefuls who receive the highest number of�votes.
Speaking to�Sputnik, Kozhanov predicted that the main competition will take place between�Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi, something that he said is confirmed by�the latest opinion polls and Iranian experts' forecasts.


In addition, it is worth taking into�account the charisma of�these two political figures, who clearly overshadow the other presidential candidates, according to�Kozhanov.
"Making predictions on�who will finally win is very dangerous and difficult. The Iranian elections are known for�their being influenced by�a factor of�unpredictability," he said.


Kozhanov, however, added that "judging by�the current situation, Rouhani has every chance of�being re-elected for�a second term."

"During [the pre-election] debates, Rouhani managed to�demonstrate that he is much better than�his opponents, even from�the point of�view of�the discussion," Kozhanov said.
"For Russia, strictly speaking, it doesn't matter who will win because the political field [in Iran's elections] is represented by�different gradations of�conservative forces; they all know full well� that under�the current state of�affairs, Iran has no alternative but�to continue in�maintaining a sustainable dialogue with�Russia," he concluded.


Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that "how the elections in�Iran will be taking place is exclusively within�the competence of�the Iranian people."

"We will work with�those who will come to�power in�Iran. We proceed from�the assumption that the relations between�our two countries should preserve positive dynamics and historical ties that we had developed," she said.

Zakharova recalled that traditionally, Russia's position on�an electoral process is in�line with�the UN Charter, which clearly warns against�meddling in�the internal affairs of�other countries and exerting pressure on�a state.