Iran supreme leader endorses hard-line protégé as president

Iran’s supreme leader has officially endorsed his hard-line protégé as the nation’s next president, just two days ahead of the inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran’s supreme leader officially endorsed his hard-line protégé as the nation’s next president on Tuesday, just two days ahead of the inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi. The new president's ascension comes at a sensitive time for Iran and the wider Middle East. Iran is reeling from crushing U.S. sanctions that have devastated the economy, led to the crash of the Iranian riyal and hit ordinary Iranians hard. In his speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei advised Raisi, a former judiciary chief, to “empower the country’s poor people and improve the national currency.” Doubts about an imminent return to Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal, which granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, have become a dark cloud dangling over the incoming hard-line administration.