BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA šC ±õ°ù²¹²Ô¡¯²õ snap election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi may have revived ±õ°ù²¹²Ô¡¯²õ reform movement.
Disillusioned voters who had abstained from participating in the June 2021 presidential election and the parliamentary election in May this year 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 archconservative candidate Saeed Jalili by 10%.
But support from reformists does not necessarily place Pezeshkian in the reformist camp. He himself resists that label, as well as the idea that he represents a continuation of the moderate Hassan Rouhani¡¯s presidency between 2013 and 2021. Like Rouhani, Pezeshkian sees better relations with the West and an end to sanctions as a strategic imperative for Iran. But beyond that, his policies are likely to be different from Rouhani¡¯s in important respects.
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