Sky News Australia

National Iranian American Council Founder Trita Parsi says the expected victory from Iranian hardliners “will likely see relations between Washington and Tehran deteriorate even further”.

Iranians head to the polls on Friday where it is expected hardliners led by President Hassan Rouhani will defeat reformists after Washington withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal and imposed sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy.

Mr Parsi told Sky News “we are seeing the political spectrum moving to the right and becoming narrower” which is “undoubtedly a result of the economic warfare campaign that Donald Trump has been pursuing after he breached a nuclear deal”.

He said “mismanagement and corruption” within Iran were “significant reason as to why the Iranian economy never fully lifts off” but “the impact that we are seeing today is clearly as a result of the sanctions”.