 It remains unclear how many Iranians will take part in Friday's poll, while 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has final say on all matters of state. Presidents can bend Iran toward confrontation or negotiations with the West. I'm Charles de la Vezma. The German government announcing an agreement on its budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe's largest economy. It eases a months-long squabble that had threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left coalition.