Iran's presidential race: Candidates debate foreign policy ahead of vote

Iran's presidential candidates discussed the country's foreign policy Monday in a three-hour live debate, promising to seek better relations with other nations and work to have sanctions on their country lifted.

The televised debate was the fourth in a series of five ahead of Friday's election, which follows a helicopter crash last month that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others. The final debate will be Tuesday.

All the candidates pledged to try to have Western sanctions on Iran lifted, but they expressed different attitudes about the issue.

"We will definitely negotiate and reach an agreement to revive a nuclear deal with world powers that President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018, said Mohamad Bagher Qalibaf, the hardline pragmatic parliament speaker, who is seen as a prominent candidate.

However, he said that under his presidency Iran would choose a gradual policy, taking step in return to step that the other side would take in lifting ...