In Iran, the successor to President Hassan Ruhani has been determined.
The election result is not a surprise, but it should mean a change of course.
Tehran (AP) - Ebrahim Raeissi has won the presidential election in Iran.
The 60-year-old head of justice was well ahead of his competitors after the majority of the votes were counted, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday.
Raeissi was the top candidate for the hardliners and was considered a favorite.
The previous president, Hassan Ruhani, was no longer allowed to run after two terms in office.
Raeissi was the top candidate of the hardliners and preferred president of the establishment.
Four years ago he had failed because of Ruhani, but this time his way to the presidential office was much easier. The so-called Guardian Council, which, as an electoral body, sorted out serious competitors, made sure of that.
This even led to violent protests within their own ranks - and to great disinterest on the part of the people in an election that was widely perceived as being staged and undemocratic.
Turning away from the moderate course
With Raeissi, the media and observers expect a change of political power in the country.
They are convinced that the arch-conservative cleric will not continue Ruhani's moderate course as president.
As a long-time public prosecutor, judge and head of justice since 2019, he has little political experience.
Yet he faces many political challenges.
First of all, he has to decide on the future of the Vienna nuclear agreement of 2015, which would also be the basic prerequisite for an economic crisis caused by the US sanctions.
But this would require negotiations with the archenemy USA.
In Middle East politics, observers under Raeissi expect a more radical course, and in relation to archenemy Israel an even more hostile one than before.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210619-99-56414 / 6
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Poll workers open a ballot box in a polling station in Tehran.
© Vahid Salemi
