Iran’s next president will have to deal urgently with a number of challenges once he starts his job, with economic problems being on top of the list.
Iran is preparing for the presidential election in less than two weeks. The six candidates who have been approved by Iran’s Guardian Council are busy campaigning to higher their chances of getting elected as the next president of the Islamic Republic.
But all the six men know it for a fact that once one is elected as president, he will have a lot on his plate. In other words, winning the election would be the start of big headaches for the president-elect as he will have to deal with several challenges that Iran is currently facing.
These challenges have been targeting Iran from multiple fronts. Regionally, escalating tensions with Israel have led to a dangerous tit-for-tat exchange of military actions between Tehran and Tel Aviv. This trend has unprecedentedly increased the risk of war between the two regional rivals as well as broader regional destabilization and international repercussions. Domestically, economic challenges, most notably high inflation, require urgent planning and effective measures.
A list of challenges that Iran’s next president will have to take care of with urgency are as follows:
- Economic sanctions mostly as a result of Iran’s nuclear program.
- Tensions with the West, especially the United States, over Iran’s nuclear program and the war between Israel and Hamas, for which the West blames Iran over alleged support for Hamas.
- Negotiation over the revival of Iran’s JCPOA or continuing the path of step-by-step reduction of nuclear commitments.
- Managing relations with neighboring countries, especially the Arab states.
- Recent tit-for-tat attacks exchanged between Tehran and Tel Aviv and the possibility of direct war with Israel.
- Anticipated succession of Iran’s Supreme Leader in the coming future.
- Public dissatisfaction over persistent inflation and social challenges such as the issue of Hejab for Iranian women.
