The most important of them are the economy, the health crisis, the nuclear deal talks, and tension with the West
Huge challenges are expected for the new Iranian president
Iranians' demonstrations against the deterioration of services, water scarcity and high prices continue.
AFP
Raisi's supporters expect a lot from him and the chances of achieving that are slim.
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Principal: We will not link the conditions of the nation's life to the will of foreigners.
AFP
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The new Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, who was sworn in last Thursday before Parliament, awaits major challenges, from the economy and the health crisis, to foreign relations, the nuclear deal talks, and tension with the West.
The following is a presentation of the highlights of what awaits the eighth president of the Islamic Republic, who officially took office, on Tuesday, at his inauguration ceremony by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, after his victory in the June elections:
Economic situation
The economic situation is a priority, which was evident in the post inauguration speech.
"Of course, we seek to lift the unjust ban, but we will not link the conditions of the nation's life to the will of foreigners," Raisi said, adding, "We do not see that the economic situation of the people is appropriate, because of the hostility of enemies, and also because of the problems and loopholes inside the country."
Iran entered into an economic crisis starting in 2018, following the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear program agreement of the Islamic Republic, and its re-imposition of harsh economic sanctions on Tehran.
The crisis was exacerbated by the consequences of the "Covid-19" pandemic, of which Iran is the most affected country in the Middle East.
The reformist economist, Saeed Laylaz, who has worked as an advisor to a number of Iranian presidents, believes that the work “the most important for my president will be to re-establish the means of living for the most marginalized classes in Iranian society.” He adds: “To achieve this goal, he must first solve the problem of inflation, which is the most important challenge.” who is facing it.”
Iran and the powers affiliated with the nuclear agreement, with indirect US participation, are engaged in talks in Vienna in an effort to revive the agreement through Washington's return to it, and to re-launch the local economy.
"If the sanctions are lifted, this will reflect stability on the macroeconomic environment, with an increase in growth and a decline in the level of inflation," said Thierry Covel, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) in Paris.
He considers that this must be accompanied by providing for the needs of the citizens "because one of the dangers is that people think that everything will improve immediately (with the lifting of sanctions), and in this case they will face great disappointment."
During Tuesday's inauguration ceremony, Khamenei stressed that "resolving economic problems requires time."
International Relations
Even if a settlement is reached regarding the nuclear agreement, Clement Terme, a researcher at the European University Institute in Italy, believes that this “will not lead to the return of foreign investors to the Iranian market in the near term.” He adds, “There is an indispensable condition for this to happen, which is normalization in diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington.
But such a thing seems unlikely, especially in light of the mistrust and mistrust between Tehran and Washington, which the Islamic Republic considers the "Great Satan."
Hardline conservative Raisi has expressed his desire to prioritize strengthening ties with neighboring countries.
Analysts expect that tension with the West will continue in the era of the two chiefs, but it may witness an openness to neighboring countries, especially in terms of working to restore diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, cut since 2016.
Terem believes that this rapprochement will be "a great diplomatic success for Tehran", and will give it "recognition of its regional role," but he points out that "the problem is to convince the Saudi regional opponent of the constructive nature of this regional influence."
Term believes that "at the economic level, this strategy aims to strengthen Iran's economic networks, in order to reduce the negative impact of US sanctions on the country's economy."
Getting out of the health crisis
Iran is the most affected country in the Middle East by the “Corona” virus, and has not yet been able to proceed with the national vaccination campaign at the desired speed, and one of the main reasons for this is the difficulty of importing vaccines in light of the US sanctions.
The new government can speed up the matter if Tehran grants relief from sanctions in this area, or if some locally produced vaccine projects obtain official approval for approval.
Laylaz believes that improving living conditions will be linked to containing the spread of the virus, which Iran is currently facing, its fifth wave.
Restoration of popular confidence
In the opinion of the reformist journalist, Ahmed Zaidabadi, "the crisis of trust (between the people and the authorities) is deep and wide."
The June elections witnessed a turnout of 48.8%, the lowest in a presidential election since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Iran has witnessed several stations in the past years, which contributed to deepening this chasm, such as the accidental downing of the Ukrainian plane “by mistake” and the death of 178 people on board, in January 2020, for which the authorities did not acknowledge their responsibility until after three days of denial, or dealing with severity. and casualties during protests in the winter of 2017-2018 and November 2019.
The environment is a forgotten priority
Kovel considers that "the environmental crisis in Iran has become a reality," but so far, "there is an impression that the government is still unable to develop a policy" to deal with it.
The southwestern province of Khuzestan witnessed demonstrations in July, against the backdrop of water scarcity. For weeks, Tehran and major cities witnessed power outages, which the authorities attributed to several reasons, including the increase in summer demand and the decrease in water resources for power generation.
Zaidabadi believes that “financial resources have been exhausted,” also referring to “the destruction of natural resources” under pressure from some economic activities, expressing his regret that “officials completely forget (this crisis) once it rains twice.”
Iran and the powers affiliated with the nuclear agreement, with indirect US participation, are engaged in talks in Vienna in an effort to revive the agreement through Washington's return to it, and to re-launch the local economy.
• The environmental crisis in Iran has become a reality, but so far there is an impression that the government is still unable to develop a policy to deal with it.
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