Election of a reformist president brings hope for change in Iran
The victory of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian in Iran’s presidential election will bring expectations of change at home and in the region.
Change could involve clashes with the unpopular clerical establishment. Iran’s ultimate authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Pezeshkian’s mandate was to proceed along the path of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
In Friday’s run-off, Pezeshkian got 53.7 per cent of votes, against 44.3 per cent for hardliner Saeed Jalili. Pezeshkian – a 69-year-old heart surgeon and independent parliamentarian – is set to be inaugurated on August 5th.
Pezeshkian owes his win to a boost in turnout to nearly 50 per cent, compared with 40 per cent in the first round on June 28th. Voters who boycotted that round cast ballots for him in the second.
His voters demand delivery on campaign promises. On the domestic level he vowed to heal the deep rift between the populace and the cleric-run regime of appointed and elected officials. To the poor, he promised to cut taxes and provide free healthcare. To women, he pledged to curb violent enforcement of the conservative dress code.
He has sworn to pursue rapprochement with Iran’s Arab neighbours, who greeted his election with enthusiasm. Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was among the first to congratulate him and called for deepening ties between the two countries.
On foreign policy, Pezeshkian advocates the resumption of negotiations to restore the 2015 agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions. Those sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy since the US abandoned the deal in 2018.
He will have limited influence over the police and conservative-held parliament and none over the army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which supports the “resistance front” of Palestinian Hamas, Lebanese Hizbullah, Iraqi Shia militias and Yemeni Houthis.
Reformists are likely to predominate in Pezeshkian’s cabinet. Ex-foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is a close adviser, while former nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi could be appointed foreign minister. Ex-commerce minister Ali Tayebnia has been mentioned as potential economy minister. He aims to carry out free market reforms, which would be resisted by the allegedly mismanaged government-owned and controlled sector of the economy.
Realisation of his policies and appointments depends on Khamenei and the Guardian Council, which vets all nominations for official positions. Previous reformist presidents Mohammed Khatami (1999-2005) and Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021) failed to effect key domestic reforms that could have benefitted the increasingly challenged regime.
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