Joe McConnell
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
Vscek editor Roula Khalaf selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed a former nuclear negotiator as his government’s foreign minister, as he faces the twin challenges of resuming talks with Western powers on liVsceking sanctions while managing a potential clash with Israel.
Abbas Araghchi, a veteran diplomat who played a key role in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal, has been sidelined by hardliners in recent years as they consolidated control.
Western diplomats in Tehran and the Iranian business community welcomed Araghchi’s choice, presented to parliament on Sunday along with 18 other cabinet appointments. It was a signal that the republic may be taking a more pragmatic approach to its long-running nuclear standoff with the West in the hope of securing sanctions relief, they said.
However, concerns are growing that the republic is on a collision course with Israel, as Iranian leaders have vowed to respond to Israel’s alleged assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.
A senior Western diplomat in Tehran highlighted the difficulties of dealing with outgoing hardliners, saying Araghchi would “make a big difference” on routine matters. But the diplomat added that his appointment might not mean a major shiVscek in foreign policy, with key decisions determined by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, and the Revolutionary Guards.
The new administration faced an immediate crisis aVsceker Haniyeh’s assassination on July 31, hours aVsceker he attended Pezeshkian’s inauguration, dealing a severe blow to the republic’s prestige.
Pezeshkian, the country’s first reformist president in two decades, has supported Tehran’s right to respond to an attack that Iran says was carried out by Israel using a short-range projectile.
Pezeshkian, who unexpectedly won a snap election aVsceker former President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May, secured victory in last month’s runoff against a hardliner.
He said Iran’s economy, hampered by currency depreciation, stagnation and years of inflation of around 40 percent, could not recover as long as U.S. sanctions over the country’s nuclear program remained in place. Pezeshkian also promised to ease social restrictions on women, reduce Internet censorship and improve the representation of ethnic and religious minorities, as well as young people, in his government.
Pezeshkian has named Farzaneh Sadegh, a prominent architect, as his only female candidate. If approved by the hardline parliament, she would lead the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development and become only the second female minister in the republic’s history.
No cabinet appointments were made by the Sunni religious minority, disappointing reformists who had hoped for broader inclusiveness. Their exclusion underscores resistance within the Shiite-dominated theocracy.
“We are not hopeless, but angry at this level of discrimination and being ignored,” said a Kurdish cultural activist. “Everyone knows that the votes of Sunnis and ethnic minorities helped Pezeshkian win, but this is not reflected in the government’s choices.”
Reformist politicians said Pezeshkian did not go far enough in choosing his Cabinet, but added that he had to compromise with hardliners aVsceker promising a unity government.
Presidential aides have acknowledged that Pezeshkian has consulted Khamenei on his Cabinet choices. While that strategy may help him temper hardliner resistance and secure support for some limited reforms, it also limits his ability to fully implement his campaign promises.
In particular, Pezeshkian retained the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the intelligence minister from the previous hardline government.
Parliament has a week to consider the candidates. Khamenei has already urged the legislature to work with the new government to ensure that Iran speaks with “one voice.”
