While it is expected that the principles of Iran’s foreign policy remain quite unchanged after the new president is elected, each candidate would have his own path in details and modus operandi in the aforementioned area.
Experts believe Iran’s general foreign policy is likely to remain unchanged irrespective of who can win the office of presidency this Friday. However, there is no room for question that either hopeful would have a different modus operandi and details on how to set Iran’s relations with countries in the region and around the world.
Pezeshkian and negotiations with the West!
From his political background and what he has introduced himself in the presidential debates, Pezeshkian will be more open to global engagement if elected as president, including with the West.
He has said that he will initiate reforms in Iran’s relations with the world. Pezeshkian believes in renegotiating a nuclear deal like the JCPOA to alleviate sanctions on Iran’s economy and ease tensions with the West.
The JCPOA, the 2015 agreement between Iran and China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was meant to remove Iran’s nuclear-related sanctions in exchange for more control and limitations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Three years later on May 8, 2018, however, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, killing all the hopes of those who believed the deal could pave the way for Iran’s economic renaissance.
In his path towards more engagement with the world, Pezeshkian has the support of reformists such as Mohammad Khatami, former president of Iran, and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Jalili will not compromise easily!
Unlike Pezeshkian, Jalili will have a conditional approach to negotiations, especially with the West, and is likely to maintain the status quo on foreign policy.
Jalili is in fact standing on the other side of the political spectrum and is considered the most rigid representative of conservative politics in the Islamic Republic. Experts believe that if Jalili becomes Iran’s president, he will have an even more confrontational approach towards the West, especially the US.
Having served as the chief nuclear negotiator between 2007-2012, during his tenure, he opposed the idea that Iran should negotiate or compromise with other countries about its uranium enrichment program.
Jalili has also said during the presidential debates that his presidency would be in line with the late Raisi’s approach, who promised in his three-year tenure not to link the economy to nuclear talks with foreign powers. Instead, the government decided to rely on Iran’s internal capabilities, while pivoting its business towards the East, strengthening ties with China, Russia and neighboring countries.
Pezeshkian, however, maintains that without lifting economic sanctions first, which have mostly been imposed on Iran by Washington, Tehran cannot reach economic growth. This claim s very well in line with the idea held by some analysts that Iran’s so-called turn to the East has not produced tangible results in improving the economy.
All in all, it seems that as one political expert has put it, Jalili won’t be able to completely avoid talks with the West, as Pezeshkian won’t make any improvement in Iran’s economy by focusing only on nuclear talks.
