The ‘Hamster’ crypto craze has taken over Iran. It emphasizes the economic malaise in the run-up to the presidential elections

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Taxi drivers and cyclists furiously tap their cellphones as they wait at the red light in the Iranian capital during a heat wave in early June. Some pedestrians in Tehran do the same. They all believe they can become rich.

The object of their fascinated attention? The "Hamster Kombat" app.

Beyond a broader crypto craze, the app's rise in Iran highlights a harder truth facing the Islamic Republic ahead of Friday's presidential election to replace late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May: a economy hampered by Western sanctions, persistently ...