Iran and Middle East Studies / İran ve Orta Doğu Çalışmaları

The Second Term of President Rouhani Having won the 12th presidential election held on May 19 bygarnering 57% of the votes, Hojatoleslam Hassan Rouhani received official approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the last week. And then, attending in swearing-in ceremony at Islamic Consultative Assembly, he has begun his second term as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Considering his election promises and political balances in the country, Rouhani was expected to make some changes in the cabinet for his second term. He had more than two months to put together his cabinet and conduct those changes. Pressures on Rouhani during the Formation of the Cabinet While preparing his new cabinet,President Rouhani faced some pressures from different segments of society and various political factions. Tensions rose between Rouhani and hardliners /conservatives who th reatened Rouhani with Bani Sadr's fate. Bani Sadr was the first president of Iran who had to...

Iranian Politics after the Presidential Election 2017-06-02 Incumbent Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has won a landslide victory in the presidential elections held on May 19, and secured the second term in office. Approximately 73 per cent of the 55-million electorates went to the polls. Rouhani received 57 per cent of the casted votes by considerably improving his supporters in comparison to the previous presidential elections.  Having assessed objections and claims of irregularities made by some people including Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi, the leading contester against Rouhani, the Guardian Council confirmed the election results on May 30. Rouhani is expected to form his new cabinet in the forthcoming days. So, how will be the future of Iranian politics from now on? Significance of the Elections Many claim that Iranian elections are sham elections because the regime predetermines the results by means of vetoing candidates. Additionally, it is claimed that powers of the ele...

Political Factions and Candidates for Presidential Elections in Iran 2017-04-26 Iran is headed towards twin elections to be held on 19 May. The twelfth presidential elections will take place at the same time with city/village council elections. The Council of Guardians, the body in charge of supervising elections in Iran, identified six persons among hundreds of hopefuls registered to run in the presidential elections, and the campaigning process has officially begun. Political Factions and Candidates One of the candidates is current president Hassan Rouhani. He has held high level positions since the revolution, and has good ties with the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. For long years Rouhani served as his representative in the Supreme National Security Council. Rouhani was also known to have close relations with a leading ‘pragmatist’ figure Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in last January. Rouhani, who was elected as president in June 2013, currently represents the technocr...

Revolutionary Guards and Politics Under Rouhani 2016-08-15 Since its foundation in 1979,The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Revolutionary Guards, IRGC) has been regarded as one of the “fundamental” pillars of Iranian politics. Revolutionary Guards, who are constitutionally charged with “safeguarding the revolution and its achievements”, have always involved in politics. IRGC, like other security institutions in Iran, is directly subordinated to Supreme Leader of the Revolution Ayatollah Hamanei and its relations with Iranian governments have been practiced in different forms.IRGC’s political clout gradually increased under the presidency of Mahmud Ahmedinecad that generated a debate on “militarization” of the Iranian regime. Likewise, in the meantime, influence of IRGCalso increased in economy due to the effects of sanctions imposed on Iran for thenuclear issue. IRGC’s role in Iranian politics and economy has been regarded as one of the biggest challenges for Has...