Suzanne Maloney, Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour
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}Source: Getty
Iran's Presidential Election, June, 14, 2013
While the outcome of Iran’s presidential election will not change the country’s external behavior with regard to its nuclear program, support for the Assad regime, or opposition to the United States and Israel, the new president will likely impact Iran’s internal atmosphere.
Source: BBC World News America
In the lead up to the Iranian presidential elections, Carnegie's Karim Sadjadpour told BBC World News America that while the outcome of this election will not change Iran’s external behavior with regard to its nuclear program, support for the Assad regime, or opposition to the United States and Israel, the new president will likely impact Iran’s internal atmosphere. While all of the candidates are conservative, the lone reformist candidate is Hassan Rowhani who is not a “fire breathing anti-American ideologue.” Sadjadpour predicted that there would most likely be a runoff election and that protests on the scale of those that occurred in 2009 were unlikely. He also argued that the incoming president will face serious economic challenges as Iran is dealing with draconian sanctions, an oil embargo, and colossal economic mismanagement and corruption.
This interview was originally aired on BBC World News America.
About the Author
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.
- Iran Wanted to Survive the War. Now What?Q&A
- What’s Keeping the Iranian Regime in Power—for NowQ&A
Aaron David Miller, Karim Sadjadpour, Robin Wright
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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