What Changes Are Expected Under Iran's New President?

Pezeshkian and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during an election rally in Tehran last week- Jamaran News
Pezeshkian and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during an election rally in Tehran last week- Jamaran News
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What Changes Are Expected Under Iran's New President?

Pezeshkian and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during an election rally in Tehran last week- Jamaran News
Pezeshkian and former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during an election rally in Tehran last week- Jamaran News

Iranians have picked reformist Masoud Pezeshkian as the Iran's next president in a election to replace Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.

Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, won the largest number of votes in the runoff against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, taking around 16 million votes or 54 percent of about 30 million cast.

He rode on support from the country's main reformist coalition and many Iranians who feared a continued hardline grip on power.

In campaigning, Pezeshkian called for "constructive relations" with Western countries to "get Iran out of its isolation".

He pledged to try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other powers, which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear activity in return for sanctions relief.

The deal collapsed in 2018 after Washington withdrew from it.

Within Iran, he vowed to ease long-standing internet restrictions and to "fully" oppose police patrols enforcing the mandatory headscarf on women, a high-profile issue since the death in police custody in 2022 of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd had been detained for an alleged breach of the dress code, and her death sparked months of deadly unrest nationwide.

Pezeshkian also pledged to involve more women and ethnic minorities such as Kurds and Baluchis in his government.

He has also promised to reduce inflation, now hovering at around 40 percent, which he says has "crushed the nation's back" in recent years.

In one debate with Jalili, Pezeshkian estimated that Iran needs $200 billion in foreign investment, which he said could only be provided by mending ties across the world.

Unlike in many countries, Iran's president is not head of state, and the ultimate authority rests with the supreme leader -- a post held by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for 35 years.

As president, Pezeshkian will hold the second-highest ranking position and will have influence over both domestic and foreign policy.

Setting economic policy will be within his powers.

However, he will have limited power over the police, and virtually none over the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military's ideological arm, according to AFP.

The police, army and IRGC all answer directly to the supreme leader.

Pezeshkian will be tasked with implementing state policies outlined by Khamenei.

Iranians have mixed feelings towards Pezeshkian's victory, with some expressing happiness and others sceptical.

"We really needed a literate president to solve the economic problems of the people," said Abolfazl, a 40-year-old architect from Tehran who asked only his first name be used.

But Rashed, a 40-year-old barber, said Pezeshkian's win "doesn't matter", and believed the "situation will only get worse".

Maziar Khosravi, a political analyst and journalist, said the new president "did not promise an immediate resolution to problems" in Iran.

"People voted for him because they realised his approach was about interacting with the world, which was completely different from the current government," he said.

Political commentator Mossadegh Mossadeghpoor said people are cautiously "hopeful that he can make some good changes and resolve some of the country's issues", especially the economy.

Analysts say Pezeshkian will face serious challenges because conservatives still dominate state institutions.

One such institution is parliament, which was elected in March and is dominated by conservatives and ultraconservatives.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who ran in the first round of the election, backed Jalili in the runoff.

Two other ultraconservatives who dropped out a day before the first round also backed Jalili.

"Dealing with the issue of hijab or any other ideological matter is out of the hands of the president," Mossadeghpoor said, noting that this is a religious matter.

Ali Vaez of the International Crisis group says Pezeshkian will face an uphill battle to secure "social and cultural rights at home and diplomatic engagement abroad".

On the nuclear issue, Mossadeghpoor said Pezeshkian may be able to "resolve it if it is the system's will".

Diplomatic efforts to revive the 2015 deal with Washington and Europe have faltered over the years.

"No one should expect Iran's approach to foreign policy to fundamentally change," said Khosravi.



Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
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Putin Thanks Saudi Leadership for Sponsoring ‘Positive’ Riyadh Talks

 A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)
A handout photo made available by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service shows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov (2-R) attending a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2-L), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3-L) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (L), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Saudi National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 18 February 2025. (EPA / Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like to meet with President Donald Trump but the meeting needs to be prepared to make it productive.

"I would like to have a meeting, but it needs to be prepared so that it brings results," Putin said in televised remarks. He added that he would be "pleased" to meet Trump.

Putin hailed the "positive" talks between senior Russian and US officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, noting that the parties agreed to restore the tattered diplomatic relations.

He expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for holding the talks in Riyadh.

"In my opinion, we have taken a first step to resume work in a variety of areas that are of mutual interest," Putin said. These included issues relating to the Middle East, global energy markets and cooperation in space, he said.

"Without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States, it is impossible to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis."

Ukraine and European governments were not invited to the talks in the Saudi capital, which heightened their concern that Russia and the United States might cut a deal that ignores their vital security interests.

But Putin said Russia had never rejected talks with the Europeans or with Kyiv, and it was they who had refused to talk to Moscow.

'NO ONE IS EXCLUDING UKRAINE,' PUTIN SAYS

"If they want, please, let these negotiations take place. And we will be ready to return to the table for negotiations," he said.

"No one is excluding Ukraine," he added, saying that there was therefore no need for a "hysterical" reaction to the US-Russia talks.

Putin praised the American's "restraint" in the face of what he called "boorish" behavior by US allies.

He said he would be "happy to meet with Donald".

"But we are in such a situation that it is not enough to meet to have tea, coffee, sit and talk about the future. We need to ensure that our teams prepare issues that are extremely important for both the United States and Russia, including - but not only - on the Ukrainian track, in order to reach solutions acceptable to both sides."

Putin said this would be no easy task. He said that Trump himself, who during the US election campaign repeatedly promised to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours, was now talking about a period of six months.

He said this was "natural" because Trump had simply begun to receive fresh information that changed his approach.