Daily Alert Archives

Iran's New Hard-Line President Poised for Pivotal Role in Nuclear Talks

(Wall Street Journal) Sune Engel Rasmussen - Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's president-elect, was sanctioned two years ago by the U.S., accused of overseeing violent crackdowns on protesters in 2009 and 2019 and the arrests of activists, lawyers and journalists. Raisi is seen as a more confrontational adversary to the West than his predecessor, current President Hassan Rouhani. Analysts anticipate Raisi will be even more resistant to American efforts to curtail Iran's military activities in the Middle East. "In terms of a broader posture towards the West, Raisi is not going to make the same kind of commitment that Rouhani made in terms of cooperation and engagement," said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, senior research fellow at the UK's Royal United Services Institute. In talks to revive the nuclear deal, Western officials say Iran continues to make demands that the Biden administration can't accept. Those include reparations from the U.S. for pulling out of the deal as well as help reviving the kind of international investment and business deals that fell apart or never materialized after the U.S. reimposed sanctions.
2021-06-21 00:00:00
Full Article