"Raisi's main challenge will be the economy. Eruption of protests will be inevitable if he fails to heal the nation's economic pain," said a government official.
The vote Friday will choose a successor to Iran's moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who cannot run again now after serving two consecutive four-year terms, and who leaves office in August.
"We don't make any plans, we just live from day to day," said Mahnaz, a 30-year-old saleswoman in a Tehran beauty products shop, summing up the glum mood.