Iran’s new president Massoud Pezeshkian is sworn in before parliament on Tuesday, July 30. He will then have 15 days to present his ministers to the assembly for a vote of confidence before the chamber composed mainly of conservatives. But if he is presented as a reformer, many doubt this label.
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The President-elect Massoud Pezeshkian is officially sworn in as president on Tuesday. His inauguration marks the end of a power vacuum following the death of the ultra-conservative Ebrahim Raïssia little over two months ago. But the character, if he presents himself as a reformer who is trying to remobilize a part of the Iranian population that has lost hope of a change coming from within the system, struggles to convince.
Since he came to power, the repression has not abated. Since the death of the president, we had a “political void”, so we could expect the country to be a bit paralyzed. On the same day, the supreme leader came to make a speech saying, “don’t worry, nothing changes”, which already meant that power remained in his hands “, explains to RFI Kian Habibian, an Iranian exiled in France and co-founder of the association We are Iranian Students. Whether there is a president or not, the arrests will continue, because the orders come from above, from the supreme leader, the religious authorities and the Revolutionary Guards. With a president or not, repression and executions continue in Iran. »
A difficult situation for Massoud Pezeshkian
But doubts also remain, because just over three weeks after his election, Iran’s new president, reformist Massoud Pezeshkian, has yet to set out the broad outlines of his policy. For Reza, a shopkeeper in his sixties, the new president must first address economic issues, including lifting sanctions, but also relax dress codes for women and reduce restrictions on the internet.
” First, there is the issue of American sanctions. He must reduce the pressure on the population. On the domestic front, there is the issue of the veil for women and internet censorship, these are things he promised during the election campaign. ” he explains to our correspondent in Tehran, Siavosh Ghazi.
But not everyone shares his optimism. This is the case for Omid, a young Iranian in his forties who is unemployed. In my opinion, there is no reason to hope for a change in the situation, because Dr. Pezeshkian did not make any promises during the campaign and is a mere executor of the government. ” he laments.
The situation therefore looks difficult for the new president, who must deal with the conservatives who control all the organs of power, while the regional and international context leaves little hope for rapid change.
Protest movements
On the diaspora side, representatives of civil society also struggle to believe it. Among the associations active from abroad, We are Iranian Students tries to defend the rights of Iranian students, particularly affected by the violent repression of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in 2022.
” Pezeshkian swears by only one thing, the word of the supreme leader. He is not the first reformer to be elected in Irananalyzes Kian Habibian. For example, we will be introduced to Rohani, told that nuclear agreements have been signed. But the population has not benefited from them. The money goes into the hands of the regime of the Revolutionary Guards who have total control over the economy. »
Despite this, members of civil society inside and outside theIran remain mobilized. Hope continues to exist as long as there is even one woman who takes off her veil in public, as long as there is an artist who will sing about people’s pain, civil disobedience, culture. These are extremely powerful weapons against dictatorships. “, adds the co-founder of We are Iranian Students.
A recording was released from Evin Prison, in which prisoners can be heard shouting that neither executions nor repression have any effect on the mobilization. Among them, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi announced that she and her fellow prisoners would join the “No to Executions” movement, launched a month and a half ago and held every Tuesday in at least 11 prisons across the country. They will also be on hunger strike on Tuesday.
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