Iranian presidential candidate Masoud Pezeshkian
Iran to hold on to Eastern promise
New reformist leadership is unlikely to see any quick changes to relations with the West, but Iran has opportunity to boost its energy and foreign policy options
Masoud Pezeshkian, a classic reformist and former member of parliament, has emerged as the new president of Iran following an election held after the death of the country’s pro-East president, Ebrahim Raisi, resulting in the resurgence of reformists in Iranian politics. Just three months ago, even the most optimistic political observers in Iran saw little chance of Pezeshkian securing a seat in parliament, let alone the presidency. But Iran now has a president who, during his campaign, emphasised efforts to resolve issues with the West. Iran's foreign policy is influenced by a complex and opaque mix of geopolitical, ideological, economic and political factors, making it difficult to define a
Also in this section
17 January 2025
Supply glut or supply deficit are both plausible outlooks, with tariffs and sanctions among the key risks that could swing the pendulum
17 January 2025
European Commission is on its way to meeting clean energy goals, but energy security concerns and higher costs may give it second thoughts
17 January 2025
The CEO of QatarEnergy has highlighted the potential impact a new EU directive could have on energy exports to the continent
16 January 2025
The government’s resource nationalism is aggravating the NOC’s debt position and could yet worsen if also tasked with the decarbonisation shift
