Iran's new progressive president, Masoud Pezeshkian, recognizes that his country's economic problems can be resolved only by pursuing better relations with the West and achieving an easing of sanctions. The fact that he was allowed to run, and to win, suggests that those who truly hold power in Iran may agree.
BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA – Iran’s snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi may have revived Iran’s reform movement. Disillusioned voters who had abstained from participating in the June 2021 presidential election and the parliamentary election in May rallied to the progressive candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon who promised to improve people’s livelihoods and reduce social tensions. Those commitments, combined with his informal style of attire and speech, were enough to defeat the arch-conservative candidate, Saeed Jalili, by ten percentage points.
BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA – Iran’s snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi may have revived Iran’s reform movement. Disillusioned voters who had abstained from participating in the June 2021 presidential election and the parliamentary election in May rallied to the progressive candidate, Masoud Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon who promised to improve people’s livelihoods and reduce social tensions. Those commitments, combined with his informal style of attire and speech, were enough to defeat the arch-conservative candidate, Saeed Jalili, by ten percentage points.