THE REVOLUTION TRUMPS THE REGIME:

In an apparent attempt to signal political continuity, Khamenei said on Saturday that whatever the result of Friday's election, it would be a vote of confidence in the 34-year-old Islamic Republic.

"A vote for any of these candidates is a vote for the Islamic Republic and a vote of confidence in the system," the hardline clerical leader's official Twitter account said.

With more than 8 million votes counted from the 50 million electorate, Rohani had tallied 51.2 percent, Iran's interior ministry said. That would take Rohani above the 50 percent of the vote he needs to avoid a second-round run-off on June 21.

Rohani's nearest rival was conservative Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a long way behind with 16.7 percent. Other hardline candidates scored even lower.

Rohani's campaign was endorsed by centrist former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani after the latter, a veteran rival of Khamenei, was barred from running by a state vetting body.

Rohani received a big further boost when reformists led by ex-president Mohammad Khatami swung behind him after their own lacklustre candidate Mohammad Reza Aref withdrew in his favour.

In contrast, several high-profile conservatives with close ties to the ruling clerical or Revolutionary Guards elite failed to unite behind a single candidate, suffering what appeared to be a decisive split in their support base as a result. [...]

Rohani is an important bridge between hardliners around Khamenei who oppose any accommodation with the West and reformers sidelined for the last four years who argue the Islamic Republic needs to be more pragmatic in its relations with the outside world and change at home in order to survive.

Rohani, a mid-level Shi'ite cleric, has impeccable revolutionary credentials and was active in the opposition that toppled the U.S.-backed shah in 1979. He also held prominent roles in Iran's 1980-88 war with Iraq, including as commander of national air defence, according to his official biography.

He remains on the Supreme National Security Council and is also on the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts, two eminent advisory bodies in Iran's multi-tiered power structure.

But he has also maintained close ties with Rafsanjani and was backed by Khatami, the reformist president from 1997-2005.

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