Tehran, Iran – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has now been in workplace for a month and a half in one of the eventful and tumultuous beginning durations for a president because the nation’s 1979 revolution.
Over the previous seven weeks, Iran has grappled with rising tensions with Israel — together with contemplating a retaliatory strike — amid persevering with efforts to realize a ceasefire in Gaza. Pezeshkian has additionally confronted a collection of home political challenges.
The president advised native and international journalists throughout his first information convention on Monday that the world should cease the “genocide” Israel is perpetrating in Gaza whereas advocating unity among the many Muslim world and denying sending hypersonic ballistic missiles to Yemen’s Houthis a day after they landed one of the projectiles in central Israel.
Right here’s a rundown on how Pezeshkian has fared to this point:
What’s occurred since Pezeshkian’s inauguration?
Hours after Pezeshkian held up the hand of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh throughout his inauguration on the Iranian parliament, Haniyeh was assassinated by a missile in northern Tehran on July 31.
The president and different high political and army authorities have blamed Israel and promised to avenge the Palestinian chief, however they’ve to this point avoided a counterstrike amid issues {that a} large-scale Iranian response may result in an all-out regional warfare.
Iran has additionally mentioned it can calibrate and time its retaliation in a approach that might not jeopardise prospects of a Gaza ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is more and more seen, even by some segments in Israeli society, as an impediment to peace, and he not too long ago confronted Israel’s largest antigovernment protests since October. But Netanyahu and a few of his allies have tried guilty Hamas and Iran’s different allies, together with Hezbollah and the Houthis, for regional tensions.
The president launched into his first international journey final week, visiting high officers in neighbouring Iraq’s Baghdad and Erbil. He’ll journey to New York this month to deal with the United Nations Common Meeting.
Pezeshkian has in any other case been centered on home politics, the place he can declare a key win — his entire list of cabinet ministers was approved by parliament, a primary since 2001, though that success got here with controversies.
Is Pezeshkian gearing up for warfare?
The Iranian president has offered himself as a average determine who intently adheres to the institution’s management on high choices whereas additionally boasting ties with the extra reformist voices whose affect has dwindled in recent times.
Pezeshkian has promised to avenge Haniyeh and has portrayed himself as dedicated to Iran’s decades-long support of the Palestinian cause. He has backed army motion in opposition to Israel in conferences with high commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian military.
However he has additionally promised to usher in additional stability and finish Iran’s financial isolation by working in the direction of getting United States sanctions lifted and passing monetary transparency legal guidelines. These are targets that can’t be achieved if Iran is militarily concerned in a regional escalation amid the widening fallout of the warfare on Gaza.
Final week, the US and its European allies formally accused Iran of sending short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use within the Ukraine warfare. Tehran continues to disclaim arming Russia within the battle. The deal to ship the missiles was allegedly signed in late 2023 earlier than Pezeshkian’s presidency, however his authorities should take care of the ensuing Western-imposed sanctions on Iran’s flagship airliner and different restrictions.
Why did the president’s cupboard trigger a stir?
Domestically too, Pezeshkian has been examined.
He was broadly believed to have little to no probability of changing into president when he registered as a candidate however shortly noticed his political inventory rise by means of assist from pushed-aside reformists and moderates, together with former presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami.
He made reformist guarantees of bettering the financial system and managing runaway inflation, refraining from utilizing power whereas coping with the contentious challenge of necessary head coverings for ladies, opening up the extremely restricted web panorama and making voters really feel heard. The coverage of necessary hijab for ladies sparked nationwide protests in 2022 and 2023.
Led by former Overseas Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Pezeshkian group arrange a council with working teams to provide you with the most effective candidates for ministerial positions. Being younger, a lady, or a member of a non secular or ethnic minority would considerably enhance candidates’ possibilities, Zarif promised on nationwide tv.
So when Pezeshkian launched a cupboard that included a number of names from earlier governments and hardline political factions who didn’t meet these standards, he dismayed lots of those that backed him in an election marked by unprecedented voter apathy. Voter turnout was under 50 p.c.
Out of 19 ministers, three had been from the federal government of late President Ebrahim Raisi, most notably Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib. 5 had been ministers in Rouhani’s authorities, and two had been members of the conservative-dominated parliament.
The choose for inside minister, army and police commander Eskandar Momeni, was maybe essentially the most controversial as a consequence of his army background, his affinity with conservative parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and previous feedback on the need to implement necessary hijab guidelines.
The 2 youngest ministers, together with the second-ever feminine minister because the 1979 revolution, are 47 years outdated. The typical age of the cupboard is near 60. There aren’t any representatives of non secular minorities among the many ministers though there are some among the many deputies.
The backlash was so loud that Pezeshkian himself needed to react, urging Iranians in a publish on X to “anticipate the cupboard to work after which criticise it primarily based on its efficiency”.
Zarif – who was rewarded with a place because the “president’s deputy for strategic affairs”, which was invented for him for fervently championing Pezeshkian’s trigger throughout his marketing campaign – resigned after the cupboard was unveiled. After the president known as him personally to dissuade him, Zarif mentioned he by no means regretted getting Pezeshkian elected and would keep on in his place.
What influenced Pezeshkian’s cupboard decisions?
Pezeshkian got down to type a “nationwide unity” authorities that he mentioned would keep true to the supreme chief’s priorities whereas deciding on representatives from completely different political factions.
After successful the presidency, he known as on his opponents within the race to announce their nominees for the cupboard as nicely.
However the president raised eyebrows when he addressed the parliament in a speech to defend the nominees and mentioned Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei had personally accredited the listing of candidates.
“I wish to inform you that we coordinated earlier than coming right here. Settle for this from us. Why are you making me say issues that I don’t wish to say?” Pezeshkian requested. “Don’t make me get into the main points. Simply vote and allow us to type a authorities.”
Keyhan, a each day newspaper whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Khamenei, criticised the president in an editorial for presenting an “incomplete narrative” that was abused by international media to assert that the supreme chief units coverage and the federal government has no actual authority.
After the uproar, Khamenei mentioned Pezeshkian “consulted” him on the cupboard.
“I confirmed some and emphasised others. Extra of them I didn’t know and had no touch upon,” the supreme chief mentioned.
What do the cupboard picks present?
To move the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, Pezeshkian chosen Abbas Araghchi, a profession diplomat who has been a main determine in talks with the West over the previous decade and was instrumental in reaching Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which stays in limbo after the unilateral US withdrawal in 2018.
Araghchi has mentioned Tehran is open to holding extra talks with the West however will prioritise actions over phrases. He emphasised throughout an interview on nationwide tv on Sunday night time that Pezeshkian’s authorities will on the similar time pursue a coverage of “limitless assist” for the “axis of resistance” of Iran-aligned political and army teams throughout the area.
Momeni, the inside minister, has a historical past of working within the antinarcotics division of legislation enforcement and is believed to have been chosen partially to assist handle numerous immigrants who’ve poured into Iran from neighbouring Afghanistan because the 2021 Taliban takeover. His appointment comes as police chief Ahmadreza Radan has promised to expel two million undocumented immigrants by March.
The defence minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, a former fighter plane pilot and air power commander, has promised to strengthen Iran’s air defences, develop extra satellite tv for pc carriers, construct extra warships and use extra drones. As Iran denies accusations that it gave Russia short-range ballistic missiles, the minister has additionally promised to no less than double army exports within the subsequent 4 years.