Hassan Rouhani’s victory in the Iranian presidential elections resulted in variety of reactions within Iran’s different social and political circles. Although he is wearing what is the official clerical robe in Iran, the experience of the previous elections show that Hawza is not necessarily allied with, or supportive of, a cleric as the president. From time to time, non-clerical candidates have managed to attract more attention from the influential members of Qom’s seminary with their ideas and policies.
Unlike the first and second term of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s elections, this time around the Hawza of Qom did not have a unified view toward a single candidate. Nor did they have a binary split between two opposing candidates, as in Ahmadinejad’s second term.
