As Irish people vote to elect the next Dáil, another country has gone to the polls to elect a new parliament.

Iranians have been voting in elections to choose members of parliament and an Experts Assembly.

Iran's leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, cast his ballot at a polling station in downtown Tehran.

He called on all Iranians to vote, saying "voting is both a right and a duty".

"Our enemies have their covetous eyes trained on Iran. People are advised to vote with discretion and foresight and disappoint the enemies," Press TV quoted him as saying.

An Iranian woman stands under a portrait of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran | Image: Vahid Salemi / AP/Press Association Images

Some 55 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the elections, which were the first since the country agreed a landmark nuclear agreement.

The country's assembly is made up of 290 seats, with members directly elected in single and multi-seat constituencies by a two-round vote.

Members serve a four-year term.

It is reported as many as 4,844 candidates - including some 500 women - were running for a seat in parliament.

However all candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council - a 12-member group, of which six are appointed by Khamenei - according to the CIA.

This compares to Ireland's electorate of 3.2 million people, with 157 Dáil seats to be filled.