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Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon who wants to revive the nuclear deal with the West, was voted president of Iran following a snap election that underscored major challenges facing the country\u2019s clerical leadership.<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian beat hard-line Islamist Saeed Jalili, 58, by almost 3 million votes in a runoff that was only marginally better attended than last week\u2019s first round, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian, who was health minister under former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, takes over at a complicated and troubled time for Iran both at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
The Islamic Republic has faced a major crisis of legitimacy for several years with frequent protests directly challenging the religious establishment and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s conflict with Israel has also reached perilous levels in recent months. The two countries\u00a0almost went to war<\/a>\u00a0after trading direct blows in April. Tensions remain very high in the region as\u00a0Israel continues<\/a>\u00a0its war on Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and becomes further embroiled in conflict with Hezbollah, which is heavily supported by the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n He also faces the possibility of Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House after US elections in November. Trump\u2019s foreign policy during his initial 2017-2021 term was defined by a hostile \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d strategy against Iran that destabilized the Persian Gulf, rattled oil markets and almost triggered a direct war.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was Trump who walked away from the nuclear deal agreed to by his predecessor, Barack Obama.<\/p>\n Turnout in the snap election, triggered by the\u00a0May death<\/a>\u00a0of cleric Ebrahim Raisi, was among the lowest ever recorded for a presidential vote in Iran, highlighting how much malaise and distrust Khamenei\u2019s political system faces.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian\u2019s arrival in office will mark a sharp departure from his predecessor Raisi. He\u2019s the first non-cleric since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be elected president and his almost clean-shaven face and straightforward style emphasizes his distance from a clerical elite that\u2019s faced unprecedented levels of opposition in recent years.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s seen as a modern-minded and highly educated man, he is also deeply religious. His frequent use of English business jargon in televised debates was balanced by recitations of the Quran, winning him support from more conservative voters.<\/p>\n During his campaign, Pezeshkian pledged to tackle high inflation, pursue sanctions relief and revive the tattered nuclear deal with world powers. He surrounded himself with moderates and reformists from former President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s foreign policy team, including ex-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.<\/p>\n But he faces a potentially tough time in office. Iran\u2019s parliament is dominated by hardliners who have scuttled previous efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear accord and are firmly against attempts to change banking laws so they abide by Financial Action Task Force standards.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian will also be expected to address\u00a0fierce opposition<\/a>\u00a0to strict laws on women\u2019s clothing and their harsh treatment at the hands of security forces. That\u2019s something that his reformist and moderate predecessors have mostly failed to achieve because so much of Iran\u2019s policy is ultimately decided by unelected bodies like the judiciary or Khamenei himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n