Presidential hopefuls spar over economy as Trump turns screws on Iran


Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks as he visits Azadshahr mine explosion site in Azadshahr, Golestan Province, Iran May 7, 2017. President.ir/Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani's trip to the coal mine in northern Iran was all going to plan, until the crowd massed in front of his car chanting "it's a day of mourning for workers".

Seconds later, shaky footage of Sunday's protest showed a man jumping onto the bonnet and stamping hard on the metalwork, a rare direct confrontation against the background of a highly-charged election race that keeps returning to one subject - Iran's stuttering economy.

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