아프리카ㆍ중동

The election of Masoud Pezeshkian as the president of Iran creates an opportunity, albeit only a limited one, for Iran to move away from its absolutist anti-Western foreign policy. Pezeshkian, a cardiologist, former health minister, and member of the Iranian parliament, defeated the ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in the July 5 runoff election to replace President Ebrahim Raisi following his fatal helicopter crash in late May. Amid an economic downturn and political disenchantment, Pezeshkian’s win signals the Iranian public’s desire for change. In addition to social and economic promises, Pezeshkian’s campaign focused in part on a new foreign policy for Iran, prioritizing the removal of sanctions, which in turn means cutting a deal with the United States. Overtures from Iran’s new president should not be rejected even though expectations should be limited given the president’s continued subjugation to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has long seen the United States as hostile to Iran and mostly favored a hardline stance.