Did U.S. Push Iran to Right? Hard-Line Cleric Wins Presidency; Nuclear Talks in Vienna Show Promise

Hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi won the Iranian presidential election with about 62% of the vote. Raisi has headed Iran's judiciary since 2019 and is seen as a protege and possible successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Turnout in the election was just 49% - the lowest since the 1979 Iranian revolution - and dozens of candidates were barred from running in the election, including former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Raisi appears to have higher ambitions than just [the] presidency," says Nega Mortazavi, an Iranian American journalist and host of The Iran Podcast." He is preparing to be a potential successor to the supreme leader," Mortazavi says. The hard-liners tried to disqualify any serious moderate or reformist rival to Ebrahim Raisi to clear a path to victory for him."