The U.S. on Thursday sanctioned five members of Iran's Guardian Council, including Secretary Ahmad Jannati, over accusations that they are impeding fair elections in the country.
In addition to Jannati, the U.S. is also sanctioning the council's senior member, Mohammad Yazdi, and three members of its Central Committee for Election Supervision.
Speaking to media on Friday, Kadkhodaei noted that the US United States has always been hostile towards Iranians and has kept threatening the nation over the past years.
He added: "This is an honor for us, and in the words of Martyr Beheshti, the US is angry because it has been pushed out of Iran.
"Today, Iranian people will give a strong response to the US arrogant government at the casting ballot," he said.
The 11th parliamentary elections and the mid-term election for the Assembly of Experts began in Iran early today.
Voters are to elect 290 lawmakers and seven members of the Assembly of Experts by their ballot papers.
The parliamentary election is being held nationwide while the mid-term Assembly of Experts election takes place in five provinces of Tehran, Qom, North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi and Fars.
Based on a report from Tehran election headquarters, over nine million people are eligible to vote in today's elections in the Iranian capital.
Overall, more than 57 million people from across Iran are eligible to vote.
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