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masoud pezeshkian

Mohammad Javad Zarif
What We're Watching

Iranian VP resigns as hardliners flex muscle

The administration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suffered a second blow in as many days with the resignation Monday of Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice president for strategic affairs. His departure comes after the impeachment on Sunday of another Pezeshkian ally, Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, over the decline of the Iranian rial, and is a sign that conservative forces are gaining ground within the current administration.

A supporter of Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian is holding up an electoral poster while participating in a ceremony with Pezeshkian's presence at the Khomeini (Iran's Late Leader) shrine in southern Tehran, Iran, on July 6, 2024. Former reformist Member of Parliament, Masoud Pezeshkian, is being elected as the new President of Iran.
What We're Watching

Will President-elect Pezeshkian reform Iran?

Iran’s incoming president is 69-year-old heart surgeon and former Health Minister Masoud Pezeshkian, a moderate who has called for “constructive interaction with the world.”

​Iranian women queue to vote at a polling station in a snap presidential election to choose a successor to Ebrahim Raisi following his death in a helicopter crash, in Tehran, Iran June 28, 2024.
What We're Watching

Iranian majority votes to ignore election, leading to runoff

Iran held a presidential election on Friday to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May, with voters choosing between four regime-approved candidates, including a “reformist” and three hardliners.

The Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organisation's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2023.
What We're Watching

Might Iran go soft on the West?

Iran’s Guardian Council approved six candidates – five hardliner conservatives and one seemingly safe reformist – earlier this month to run in a June 28 snap election to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a plane crash last month. The council’s inclusion of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian surprised many, but even more shockingly, he has proven an unlikely but fierce competitor against prominent right-wing opponents.