The election of President Ebrahim Raisi and the future of Iran

After an election which saw the lowest turnout and highest number of spoiled ballots in the history of the Islamic Republic, the ultraconservative regime veteran Ebrahim Raisi was elected as the newest president of Iran. Does the election of Raisi represent a significant change of direction following the term of President Rouhani? Could unified hardliner control of Iran paradoxically lead to a more durable nuclear deal and greater dialogue with regional adversaries such as Saudi Arabia?  Will Raisi’s own human rights record prove a barrier to talks with Western powers?  

To find out, this week’s host Anthony Dworkin, senior research fellow and acting research director at ECFR, talks to Narges Bajoghli, assistant professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation and visiting fellow at ECFR, and Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of ECFR´s MENA programme.

This podcast was recorded on 23 June 2021.

Further Reading:

• “Council of despair: Iran’s uncompetitive presidential election” by Ali Reza Eshraghi
• “A familiar victory: Iran’s divides under a new president” by Ali Reza Eshraghi
• “Four steps to support Europe-Iran trade under a revived JCPOA” by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Bookshelf:

• “Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid through Violent Regimes” by Carsten Wieland
• “Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists” by Wazhmah Osman
• “Christ Stopped at Eboli” by Carlo Levi 
• “When We Cease to Understand the World” by Benjamín Labatut