Raisi's economic agenda may depend on Iran nuclear deal
As the JCPOA parties prepare for a return to the seventh round of nuclear talks, incoming hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi might actually welcome a done deal before taking office.
Ebrahim Raisi’s election to the Iranian presidency has raised significant concern about the future direction of Iran’s domestic and foreign policy trajectory.
As a Principlist conservative with close ties to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi is an Islamic religious nationalist who sees the preservation of the Islamic Republic’s security and stability as key to his tenure as president.
Whereas Reformists and centrists like outgoing President Hassan Rouhani have advanced ideas of international economic integration, moderation and broader diplomatic ties as crucial to protecting the Islamic Republic’s longevity, conservatives like Raisi fear that those compromises will transform and weaken the foundational pillars of the revolution.
As such, Raisi is expected to support policies that promote economic independence and resilience, resistance and transactional outreach that ironically are paved through the rehabilitation of the Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
