Global leaders congratulate Iran's Pezeshkian on presidential victory

In the first 100 days, “it is important to establish a policy of understanding with the United States and the three European powers to reduce sanctions and thus lower inflationary expectations. The government's first step should be to suppress these inflationary expectations,” Hemmati, a critic of Iran’s hardliners stated.

Nuclear negotiations by the Biden administration and Britain, France and Germany, which started in April 2021 failed to forge a new agreement to revive the Obama-era JCPOA nuclear deal. As a result, Trump administration’s oil export and international banking sanctions remained in place seriously impacting Iran’s weak economy.

Hemmati and numerous other experts and analysts in Tehran have long called for a change of course by the Islamic government, which has increasingly adopted a more hardline posture since 2020, not only in foreign policy but also in its repressive measures against social and political freedoms. Many hope that the election of the relatively moderate Masoud Pezeshkian can bring about a measure of change in both foreign and domestic policies.

The former chief banker is considered a ‘reformist’ who was a candidate in the 2021 presidential election when the hardliner candidate Ebrahim Raisi was elected amid heavy-handed engineering of the election process. He registered as a candidate again for the latest presidential elections but the notorious Guardian Council rejected his qualification.

“In the first 100 days, the government must demonstrate that it does not intend to continue the previous erroneous path,” Hemmati said. Although the new president, Masoud Pezeshkian has made many promises, he has offered few concrete plans for change. He has emphasized the need to improve relations with the international community, but when it comes to the United States, everyone believes the key is in Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s hand.

However, beyond improving ties with the West and lifting of sanctions, the government needs to open up the state-controlled economy to more market competition, Hemmati emphasized. “It is important to announce the main economic policy of distancing from a command economy and implementing primary policies based on competitive strategies to align and integrate the private sector with the state economy.”

Hemmati also highlighted his concern about Iran’s annual inflation rate hovering around 50 percent. The government must “correct wrong decisions to control the budget deficit and manage variables that lead to increased inflation."

With sanctions stifling oil revenues, the government has resorted to printing money to balance its budget, which has fueled runaway inflation in the past five years.

Calling for the president to be able to exercise his constitutional power, Hemmati said there is no need for a stronger or weaker president, but the constitution should be respected and applied in regards with presidential authority.

On Friday, the Human Rights Activist Network in Iran (HRANA) reported that Jalalian, despite suffering from multiple physical ailments, has been consistently denied the necessary medical attention and hospital transfers.

“Ms. Jalalian suffers from pterygium (an eye disease) as well as kidney and gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, due to pain in her right side, she was transferred to the prison infirmary. She was examined by the prison doctor, but no specialized treatment was provided. This political prisoner requires hospitalization and specialized care, yet the relevant authorities continue to prevent her transfer,” wrote HRANA.

Jalalian was arrested on February 26, 2008, while traveling on an intercity minibus in western Iran. Agents of the Ministry of Intelligence apprehended her at the entrance to the city, in front of dozens of passengers. During her detainment, Jalalian was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture, as reported by multiple rights groups.

In December 2008, she was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Kermanshah on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through “armed action against the Islamic Republic, membership of PJAK, possession and maintenance of military weapons and equipment, and propaganda activities in favor of anti-state groups” according to Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Her sentence was commuted from execution to life imprisonment in October 2011.

In 2016, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that she was detained for the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression and association and denied her right to a fair trial. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Iranian authorities for her immediate release.

In January this year, Amnesty urged for her release again and stated that despite the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, “Iranian authorities continued to subject Zeynab Jalalian to torture by deliberately denying her healthcare to coerce her into providing a videotaped ‘confession’ and ‘repenting’ for her past activities. Following at least two COVID-19 infections, Zeynab Jalalian has developed a lung condition and has trouble breathing – a condition that needs proper treatment.”

Jalalian has been transferred multiple times between various prisons, including Khoi, Qarchak, Varamin, Evin, Kerman, Kermanshah, and Yazd, without any leave. Her health has deteriorated significantly, with no respite from the prison authorities.

Numerous reports have highlighted the systemic neglect of medical treatment for political prisoners in Iran, resulting in the deaths of several inmates in the past.

Pezeshkian who considers himself an independent was backed by the Reform Front in the snap elections of June 28 that followed the death of hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19.

The pro-reform candidate secured over 7 million votes more than the first round and nearly 3 million votes more than his ultra-hardliner rival, according to official figures announced by the government.

The first round of the elections in which the turnout dropped to a record low of around 40 percent was widely boycotted by various political groups, activists, and disillusioned Iranians.

According to official figures, which many in the opposition are challenging, turnout in Friday’s runoff election increased by about ten percent to 49.8 percent. In Iran's tightly government-controlled electoral process, these figures cannot be independently verified.

The new president made many promises during his campaign, but as was the case with other candidates, detailed plans were lacking.

Pezeshkian advocates engagement in constructive talks with Western powers to revive the JCPOA nuclear deal and to lift the sanctions that he says have crippled the Iranian economy since the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement in 2018. He has not offered any concrete plans for such a move which requires the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

He has also insisted that Iran needs to accede to international conventions prescribed by the anti-money laundering Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to allow international banking ties. Iran has been on FATF’s blacklist since February 2020.

Former Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif who campaigned for Pezeshkian relentlessly in the past few weeks is likely to be chosen for a senior position in his cabinet. The position of foreign minister is said to have been reserved for Zarif’s former deputy and nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi.

Pezeshkian said during campaign debates that lower-income and vulnerable Iranians would not pay taxes if he won the elections. He has also vowed free healthcare for the lower income and vulnerable families.

Ali Tayebnia, an economist and former minister of commerce in the government of Hassan Rouhani (2013-1017), is widely believed to be at the helm of Pezeshkian’s economic team. Tayebnia is believed to be a support of free market economy, as Iran suffers from overwhelming government control and ownership.

The 70-year-old heart surgeon, lawmaker and first deputy speaker of parliament (2016 – 2020), and veteran of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) has on various occasions admitted to helping impose the hijab on women in the early years of the Islamic Republic but has promised voters to put an end to the violent enforcement of the Islamic dress code by morality police enforcers.

Pezeshkian is known for his fiery speeches in the parliament against the government’s bloody crackdown on protesters in 2009.

In a tweet a day after Amini’s death, Pezeshkian strongly criticized the violence against her and said “arresting a girl for her hijab and handing her corpse to her family” was unacceptable in the Islamic Republic and shameful. He later said he had been barred by the Guardian Council from standing in the March 2024 parliamentary elections due to his protest to Amini’s killing.

He has also been critical of the house arrest of the leaders of the Green Movement who have been detained in their residences since 2011.

Pezeshkian had served as health minister under the reformist Mohammad Khatami from 2001 to 2005. Khatami who abstained from voting in the parliamentary elections of March in protest to the extensive disqualification of non-hardliners supported Pezeshkian and voted for him.

Pezeshkian’s additional votes in the runoff elections probably came from some of those who had boycotted the first round as well as some of the supporters of the Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who lost in the first round.

Pezeshkian’s approval to run by the ultra-hardline election watchdog, the Guardian Council, came as a surprise. He had previously registered for the presidency in 2013 but withdrew and registered again in 2020, only to be disqualified by the Guardian Council.

The campaign to boycott Iran’s election has been stronger than ever this year, leading to a record low turnout in the first round of the election. The turnout appears to have improved in the runoff according to official figures.

Outside Iran, the turnout is usually much lower than inside the country. But this time it has been even lower, and the opposition to those voting has been much stronger.

Witness reports and video clips published on social media show Iranian protesters gathering in front of Iran’s Interests Section (IIS) in Washington D.C. and confronting those going in and out. Similar videos have emerged from other polling stations in the neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland.

At least one station (in Tysons, VA) is reported to have been shut down following protests.

The US government had granted permission for 35 polling stations across the country, according to data published on the IIS website. The decision to allow voting for Iran’s election was criticized by activists who say the Biden administration should have followed the Canadian government and refused to allow stations to be set up in the United States.

It is unclear how many of those stations have in fact been set up and collected votes. In the first round, Voice of America conducted a study and found that out of 33 polling stations, 18 likely held voting. This was confirmed through Voice of America contacting 12 hotels and observing 6 stations based on social media images.

The main polling station was the IIS office in Washington DC. Iran International’s Ardavan Roozbeh, who spent the day outside the premises, said Iranian officials seemed to have purposefully scheduled many consular appointments for election day to drag Iranians to IIS to create a “participation illusion.”

“About 50 people were queuing from 8am, holding their passports and other documents,” Roozbeh said. “It seemed like they were queuing to vote, but they were just there for consular services and had no option because their appointment was scheduled for that day.”

The IIS represents the Islamic Republic in the US and offers consular services to Iranian-Americans.

An ethnic rights advocacy group, the Baloch Campaign, reported that the bus "left the area without collecting any votes." Apparently, the blaze was put out enabling the vehicle to drive away.

This incident follows last week's violence when unidentified assailants attacked a vehicle transporting election boxes in Sistan-Baluchestan Province just minutes after voting concluded in the first round of presidential elections at midnight on June 29.

The assault reportedly resulted in the deaths of two security personnel and injuries to several others, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA. Additionally, one of the assailants was also killed.

Sistan-Baluchestan experienced significant unrest during the nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, recording the highest number of casualties among Iran's 31 provinces.

The province remains a hotspot for protests fueled by unemployment, water shortages, and security policies perceived as targeting the Baluchi minority.