With Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s new Cabinet just getting settled, the press is beaming with news of technocracy’s return to the country’s governing apparatus, and just recently, the possibility of the transfer of part of Iran’s nuclear file from the Supreme National Security Council under the supreme leader to the Foreign Ministry — under the president's office.
Despite developments of late, the mood in Tehran is a mixed bag of cautious optimism and outright indifference. This clashes with the sentiments seen the night Rouhani’s victory was announced, when street parties erupted in the capital’s biggest squares and boulevards. By now, some have taken to rationalizing the events of June 15 as an “excuse” to rejoice after an election outcome that at least appeared to run contrary to hardliners’ wishes — itself a cause for celebration.