Will Raisi’s Election Change Iran’s Relations with the Gulf?

Ebrahim Raisi. (AFP)
Ebrahim Raisi. (AFP)
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Will Raisi’s Election Change Iran’s Relations with the Gulf?

Ebrahim Raisi. (AFP)
Ebrahim Raisi. (AFP)

Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi declared on Monday that Tehran values neighboring countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at a press conference after winning the elections, he stressed: “We want good relations with all neighboring countries, especially Saudi Arabia.”

Moreover, he said Iran is not opposed to opening embassies with Saudi Arabia or establishing relations with it.

Conservative Iranian media had hailed Raisi’s election as the “birth of a new dawn” in the country, describing turnout as “epic” even though in fact it was the lowest in the history of the republic.

Raisi will be confronted with massive local political, social and economic challenges in a region that is mired in its own problems and complications. Experts predict that Raisi will take Iran further to the right, which will impact the ongoing negotiations in Vienna over its nuclear program.

Kuwaiti academic Dhafer al-Ajami described the Iranian elections as a preparation for the post-Ali Khamenei phase, adding that Raisi was simply a carbon copy of the supreme leader.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he noted that Iran has for 40 years been claiming to extend its hand to Gulf, specifically to Saudi Arabia.

They really do not want to hold serious and effective negotiations, but such claims are used to justify some stances, he added.

The Iranian leadership is really not aware of what the Gulf wants, which is that it cease meddling in its affairs, stop exporting the revolution, quit supporting militias and end the malign objectives of the nuclear program, he explained.

If Iran is ready to meet these demands, then that would be good, but its stubbornness has reached the extent of denying the Gulf the right to protect its regional security, Ajami added.

Raisi’s election is not expected to change Iran’s foreign policy, which is firmly controlled by Khamenei.

Senior researcher at the Gulf Research Center Hesham Alghannam said that his election will at least end the duality in statements coming from Tehran.

Talk of inter-Iranian disputes will end with Raisi’s arrival to power and therefore, dealing with him will be clearer and Iran will have less room to maneuver, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Moreover, he noted that Raisi cannot claim to be incapable of improving ties with Iran’s neighbors.

Iran’s foreign policy and relations with the regional countries will not change much with his arrival, at least not in the beginning, Alghannam predicted.



Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
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Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa

Hatem Abdelhamid stands amid his once-thriving date palms in northern Sudan, helpless as a prolonged war-driven power outage cripples irrigation, causing devastating crop losses and deepening the country's food crisis.

"I've lost 70 to 75 percent of my crops this year," he said, surveying the dying palms in Tanqasi, a village on the Nile in Sudan's Northern State.

"I'm trying really hard to keep the rest of the crops alive," he told AFP.

Sudan's agricultural sector -- already battered by a two-year conflict and economic crisis -- is now facing another crushing blow from the nationwide power outages.

Since the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, state-run power plants have been repeatedly targeted, suffering severe damage and ultimately leaving farms without water.

Like most Sudanese farms, Abdelhamid's depends on electric-powered irrigation -- but the system has been down "for over two months" due to the blackouts.

Sudan had barely recovered from the devastating 1985 drought and famine when war erupted again in 2023, delivering a fresh blow to the country's agriculture.

Agriculture remains the main source of food and income for 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Now in its third year, the conflict has plunged more than half the population into acute food insecurity, with famine already taking hold in at least five areas and millions more at risk across conflict-hit regions in the west, center and south.

The war has also devastated infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of people, and displaced 13 million.

A 2024 joint study by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that nearly a third of rural households have lost irrigation and water access since the war began.

Without electricity to power his irrigation system, Abdelhamid -- like thousands of farmers across the country -- was forced to rely on diesel-powered pumps.

But with fuel scarce and prices now more than 20 times higher than before the war, even that option is out of reach for many.

"I used to spend 10,000 Sudanese pounds (about four euros according to the black market rate) for irrigation each time," said another farmer, Abdelhalim Ahmed.

"Now it costs me 150,000 pounds (around 60 euros) because there is no electricity," he told AFP.

Ahmed said he has lost three consecutive harvests -- including crops like oranges, onions, tomatoes and dates.

With seeds, fertilizers and fuel now barely available, many farmers say they won't be able to replant for the next cycle.

In April, the FAO warned that "below average rainfall" and ongoing instability were closing the window to prevent further deterioration.

A June study by IFPRI also projected Sudan's overall economic output could shrink by as much as 42 percent if the war continues, with the agricultural sector contracting by more than a third.

"Our analysis shows massive income losses across all households and a sharp rise in poverty, especially in rural areas and among women," said Khalid Siddig, a senior research fellow at IFPRI.