The two candidates offer different approches, but whoever wins won’t be the sole decision-maker in Iran’s system.
Will Iran’s foreign policy change under a new president?
Aljazeera News , 2 Jul 2024 - 5:00
Reporter : Editorial of The Iran Project
The two candidates offer different approches, but whoever wins won’t be the sole decision-maker in Iran’s system.
According to The Iran Project, The two remaining candidates vying for the Iranian presidency, Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian, offer voters distinct visions for the country’s future.
However, experts say their differing views are unlikely to lead to a significant change in Iran’s foreign policy.
Pezeskhian, a former health minister and surgeon, came first in Friday’s election but did not secure the 50 percent needed for an outright victory, forcing him into a run-off against second-placed Jalili to be held on July 5.
Friday’s snap election was to pick a successor to President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in late May.
Pezeshkian stands out in the race as the only non-conservative candidate allowed to run.
He had the backing of reformists like former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose involvement likely indicates Pezeshkian will pursue a key reformist foreign policy goal: renegotiating a nuclear deal to alleviate sanctions on Iran’s economy and ease tensions with the West.
The 2015 agreement between Iran and China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, United States, to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, was signed under the centrist presidency of Hassan Rouhani.
Story Code: 424137