Iranians are going to polls today to vote in the parliamentary elections.

The elections come at a time of turmoil at home and tensions abroad.

The vote comes after months of anti-government protests fueled by a deepening economic crisis and met with a brutal crackdown on dissent, especially in Kurdistan.

The elections also come a month after US President Donald Trump's order to kill Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. A killing that brought Washington and Tehran to the brink of war.

Iran retaliated by targeting US bases in Iraq. As tensions grew Iran downed a civilian Ukranian plane that had just taken off from Tehran. 

Commentators say that these elections will be won by hawks and will see a low turnout as people are deluded and disappointed. More than 15,000 people applied to run for parliament, but 7,296 were disqualified by the Guardian Council, including some sitting members of parliament and many moderate candidates. 

Coronavirus spreading

According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, three more cases of viruses were detected in the country. The total number of cases increased to 5. It was reported that 4 of these were in the city of Kum and one in the city of Arak. The first two people to be affected in Kum have died