In a busy café in north-western Tehran, with loud western music blasting from speakers, Vahid said he would not cast his vote in Friday’s presidential election.

“Why should I vote in a system where there is repression and corruption?” he said. The 30-year-old architect said he would stay away “because I’m living in economic stress and I don’t have job security, and because normality, freedom and peace of mind are lacking from my life”.

Five weeks after president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash, Iran is gearing up for a snap vote that has sparked a fierce debate between those planning to take part and those convinced that within the country’s tightly controlled political system, and against a backdrop of economic misery, voting would be pointless.