As Pezeshkian begins new term, odds are stacked against him
The Hindu
Iranians elect reformist Masoud Pezeshkian as President, promising to revive nuclear deal and ease social restrictions, facing conservative challenges.
Iranians have picked reformist Masoud Pezeshkian as the Islamic republic's next President in a election to replace Ebrahim Raisi who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
Mr. Pezeshkian, a 69-year-old heart surgeon, won the largest number of votes in the run-off against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili, taking around 16 million votes or 54% 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, Mr. 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.
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