With an expert look at the main issues of Iran in the domestic and foreign arenas, the selection of Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian can be considered a desirable selection and a hidden gift of God, whose positive effects will gradually appear in the field of domestic and foreign politics. This selection in the current situation is a clear sign of the rationality of the Iranian society and the intelligence of sovereignty that provided the ground for this selection for the people. The 14th government will be established soon, but before the motor of the new government is turned on, it is necessary to carefully reflect on the clear and hidden messages of the presidential election with a realistic and pathological look. The audiences of these messages are the government, sovereignty, neighboring countries, regional actors, and the international system; even the people of Iran are part of these messages. Suppose the domestic and foreign messages of the elections are well understood. In that case, the way to correct incorrect procedures will be provided.
Dr. Pezeshkian selection messages in the arena of domestic politics:
- The recent elections showed the level of legitimacy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. That all those who participated in the elections do not necessarily agree with all the policies of the past. At the same time, the boycotters, that is, those who did not participate in the elections, are not necessarily against the system. A significant part of the people, both the boycotters and the participants, are complainers. They are not subversive, and with the efficiency of the government, they will be with the government.
- Jalili's approach in the elections was to maintain the existing situation with gradual changes, and Dr. Pezeshkian's approach was to revise governance procedures. The selection of Pezeshkian means that the majority of Iranian people are dissatisfied with the existing procedures in domestic and foreign policy and want to change the existing situation. Except for the subversive minority, probably the majority of boycotters also want to change and modify the existing procedures.
- The people have crossed the duality of fundamentalism and reformism, as Mr. Ghalibaf, who had the support of many governing institutions and reference groups, such as the Islamic Coalition, famous preachers, and elders, did not meet with the people's favor. On the other hand, the votes of many of those who were thought to be fundamentalists were given to Dr. Pezeshkian. Therefore, the majority of people have gone beyond factional duality. Suppose the duality of the clerical society and the militant clerical society has gone down in history. In that case, the duality of fundamentalism and reformism is also on the path to the same fate.
- Iranian society has reached rationality and political maturity and evaluates the promises of election candidates realistically. If promises such as welfare cards, free travel, gold, a world of opportunities, etc., were met with the lack of welcome of the masses of the people, on the other hand, the majority of the people voted for someone who did not make space and imaginary promises to the people.
- Elections are no longer a stage for magic. The awakened conscience of the Iranian people distinguishes honesty and truth from concealment and threadbare politics. Pezeshkian connected with people's hearts, and his honesty, purity, and past performance made the public's conscience believe him.
- In recent periods, people's behavior in elections has been based on a certain feeling conveyed to them by different candidates. This feeling is transmitted to them from the inside and nature of people. Spreading hatred, injustice, utopian thinking, and imagination create a negative feeling in people, while morality, honesty, fairness, and realism create a positive feeling in people.
- People's expectations from the president based on the weight of executive power in governance have been placed on a realistic path. People's questions to the candidates and observations of people's comments in cyberspace show that people no longer have high expectations from the president as in the past and have become aware of the limitations of executive power in domestic and foreign policy.
- On the one hand, the neutrality and fair stance of the governing bodies and Dr. Pezeshkian's emphasis on implementing upstream plans, including the 7th Development Plan, show that the governing bodies have reached a rationality to cooperate with each other, and the unification project has failed in practice.
- Based on this, we can predict that the intensity of confrontations and conflicts between the government and the governing institutions in the government of Pezeshkian will not be the same as in the past (the government of reforms and the government of moderation) and will decrease, and the common geography of cooperation based on national interests between the governing institutions and the elected government will create.
- People expect Pezeshkian to employ expert and religious people who care about the country (the development and progress of the country) regardless of factional affiliations. The government expected from Dr. Pezeshkian is based on honesty and transparency.
Dr. Pezeshkian selection messages in the arena of foreign policy:
- The people of Iran do not know an alternative to the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are not looking for a revolution or subversion. They prefer the policy of moderation and gradual reforms to the change of governance, as in the second round of elections, 6 million people, i.e. 10%, were added to the number of voters.
- Heavy propaganda by foreign opponents to increase the number of boycotters failed in the second round.
- The people of Iran want a change in the direction of the government's foreign policy. They deeply realized that the general principles of foreign policy are a matter of sovereignty, but at the same time, they have experienced that the approach of governments in foreign policy can change the direction of sovereignty in foreign policy if the people witness the change of direction of foreign policy in the governments of construction, reforms, fundamentalism, moderation, and neo-fundamentalism.
- The people of Iran realized that the policy of neighborhood and looking to the east alone and disconnected from the cruel machine of sanctions would not succeed.
- The people of Iran do not consider the JCPOA to be harmful. They don't consider its technical defects to the negotiating team. They deeply understand that diplomacy is a negotiation where one side is us and one side is the other. JCPOA, as Trump said, was a loss for America, so he left it.
- Pezeshkian did not promise to revive the JCPOA. Still, he said that his government's approach is to negotiate and try to solve or reduce sanctions. Based on this, the new Iranian government will not put all its eggs in the negotiation basket.
- The new government of Iran will not change Iran's regional policies. Pezeshkian is a defender of the neighborhood policy and Iran's role in the resistance front.
- The new Iranian government will adjust its foreign policy based on Iran's economic interests and on a win-win basis. As a result, the upcoming negotiations on the nuclear issue will proceed based on economic benefits for Iran.
- Field and diplomacy in the new government will reach a point of balance and consistency in relation to each other, and the duality of field and diplomacy is detrimental to the interests of the country.
- The three principles of honor, wisdom, and expediency will guide the foreign policy of Pezeshkian's government. Based on this, the 14th government will simultaneously take an interactive and confrontational approach. Iran's national interests, especially economic interests, will determine which of the confrontational and interactive approaches the government will follow.
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, a senior expert at the IPIS
(The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IPIS)