When Iranian officers convened in Tehran to focus on the nation’s water disaster this month, President Masoud Pezeshkian requested them to take away their blazers to address the sweltering warmth as an alternative of switching on the air con.
Dressed in a short-sleeved polo shirt, his gesture was meant to symbolize a dedication to preserve vitality amid war, but it surely shortly sparked controversy. Hardline politicians slammed the president’s unorthodox selection of apparel and activists accused him of double requirements, the place below Iran’s strict costume codes, odd folks could be barred from dressing down.
The subsequent day, London-based opposition information outlet Iran International reported that he had submitted his resignation. The information despatched the president’s crew into disaster administration as officers took to social media to dismiss the report as “wishful thinking.” It was the newest of a number of false stories about Pezeshkian providing to step down.
The episodes provide a snapshot of the cascading crises which have outlined Pezeshkian’s tenure. Initially seen as a placeholder after his predecessor died in a helicopter crash in 2024, the president has emerged as an unlikely survivor throughout one in every of the most turbulent intervals in the Islamic Republic’s historical past, whereas retaining a measure of public help regardless of wartime stress and assaults from hardliners and opposition forces alike.
But as conservative forces in the nation try to consolidate energy following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the begin of the US-Israeli struggle, the query now could be whether or not Pezeshkian’s can survive as president as soon as it ends.
With an interim deal for a ceasefire with the United States showing more and more probably, Pezeshkian’s home challenges might quickly multiply. US President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that the US “ended the war with Iran,” including that it has agreed to a “very strong memorandum of understanding,” although Iranian officers have but to formally log out on any pact.
“Pezeshkian is going to be dealing with a lot of post-war issues but he is likely come out of this with more credibility within the Iranian political system, having served as a wartime president,” Ali Ahmadi, a fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Middle East Institute Switzerland, stated.
The president watched Israel assassinate his colleagues and superiors, confronted accusations by ultra-conservative hardline politicians of compliance with Iran’s archenemy, the United States, and even oversaw a large crackdown on protests. Yet, even with persistent rumors of his impending resignation, he continues to run the authorities, albeit inside the shrinking boundaries imposed on him by a regime enduring an existential struggle.
“The war and the domestic political dynamics it has unleashed have further relegated his status as, at least formally, (as) the Islamic Republic’s second-highest official,” Mohammad Ali Shabani, editor of Amwaj.media, a London-based information outlet, advised NCS, including that “Pezeshkian is now increasingly settling into a role as a manager of mainly domestic affairs.”
“Whether the presidency as an institution will remain constrained compared to his predecessors remains an open question,” he stated.
Pezeshkian’s presidential model is characterised by uninteresting humility, repeated apologies, and folksy relatability. He was nominated to run for the presidency in fastidiously vetted elections after the dying of his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi. Experts say voters elected the comparatively low-profile determine largely to block Saeed Jalili, the hardline extremist nominee he was operating towards.
Under the shadow of a supreme chief who dictates key choices, and crafty politicians maneuvering for energy, the Iranian presidency has over the previous two years been decreased to little greater than administering the edicts imposed from above.
Yet, as Pezeshkian alerts compliance in his restricted function, he has quietly survived and even elevated his personal visibility by making an attempt to ship on his marketing campaign guarantees, regardless of the ongoing battle.
For some Iranians, the 71-year-old has proved adequate in the face of rolling crises, providing a reasonable voice in a pool of hardliners – a breath of recent air for a inhabitants dominated with an iron fist.
“At the very least, his tone and outlook seem more moderate than others,” stated one Iranian mom of two dwelling in Tehran, who requested not to be named. “Young people no longer just want economic promises. Social freedoms, open internet, and a calmer atmosphere matter to them too,” she advised NCS, including that “we can only judge by one thing… real results in people’s daily lives.”
A former surgeon and lawmaker who is essentially seen as much less assertive than his predecessors, he was, maybe by design, the solely reasonable candidate vying for the prime elected seat in the nation after dozens of others have been barred from operating.
Today, he technically holds the second strongest seat in Iran’s management. In actuality, his workplace’s function is changing into much less related as the IRGC, which observers say features as a deep state, grows in prominence following Khamenei’s killing in an Israeli airstrike on February 28.
“An almost accidental president, Pezeshkian – a former MP – has sought from the outset of his term to defang his hardline opponents through excessive fealty to the supreme leader,” Shabani stated. “While this had benefits, such as promptly having his cabinet approved by the parliament, it also hollowed out the authority of the presidency under his watch.”
Despite his apologetic and mild-mannered nature, Pezeshkian has presided over the regime’s deadliest crackdowns on protesters, one in every of Iran’s worst droughts in many years, Tehran’s lethal air air pollution that claims 1000’s of lives every year, and a forex so devalued that authorities have resorted to eradicating zeros from the rial to make monetary calculations simpler.
Nonetheless, Pezeshkian has sought to defend his presidency. This weekend, he lashed out at state broadcaster IRIB for including to public anxiousness by portraying the authorities’s efficiency in a damaging mild.
“When state television and certain media figures direct unfair criticism at the government during wartime, we will be compelled to respond appropriately. That would not be in the country’s best interest,” he wrote Sunday on X in a publish that garnered widespread criticism from conservative Iranians.
When the US and Israel launched the struggle in late February, the regime’s political veterans assumed de facto management over main state choices in a transfer that additional confined Pezeshkian’s function to administration. Some of the clashes he has engaged in have come to reveal the limits of his energy.
“The authority, influence, and institutional significance of the presidency have declined considerably since after the (former President Hassan) Rouhani era,” Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, advised NCS. “Today, both the president as an individual and the administration as an institution are largely confined to implementing decisions that are made elsewhere – particularly within the Supreme National Security Council.”
Yet, regardless of the extreme limits on his political maneuverability, Iran’s mounting crises have boosted Pezeshkian’s standing, particularly since the US-Israeli struggle started.
As hardliners push for continued struggle, Pezeshkian is probably going adopting a extra reasonable stance that has riled hardliners.
“It would not be surprising if Pezeshkian would be more likely to advocate for more patient diplomacy and flexibility,” stated Ahmadi.
Since his election, he has clashed with conservative parts in the regime over coverage issues. In the early days of the struggle, Pezeshkian issued public apologies to neighboring international locations for strikes launched towards them – drawing even sharper criticism from hard-liners.
He has nonetheless continued to guarantee his authorities gives an ample provide of fundamental, if costly, items regardless of a naval blockade imposed by Washington on Iran, and has even pushed to assert some authority on key marketing campaign guarantees – points which have garnered additional help.
Pezeshkian reluctantly presided over the longest web blackout in the nation’s historical past , however he earned public help after talking out towards these restrictions and lifting them final month, at the same time as hardliners tried to block the transfer through a court order.
During the struggle, he turned extra seen on the streets of Tehran, strolling freely amongst the folks with out guards and attending to sufferers in hospitals, in accordance to movies shared on-line.
Remarkably, some conservatives have come to his protection.
“Throughout the life of the Islamic Republic, even influential presidents have never been in (Pezeshkian’s) situation,” conservative commentator Abbas Salimi Namin advised Iranian reformist information outlet Rouydad24.
Still, whereas Pezeshkian has demonstrated his means to function effectively inside his confined area, his willingness to defer the most important strategic choices to Iran’s safety institution has made his administration conveniently compliant – leaving many Iranians disillusioned together with his presidency.
“Are you really asking me if I have an opinion about this guy?” an Iranian man who had misplaced his job due to the web shutdown advised NCS. “The country’s problems go far beyond one person or one government.”
“They’re rooted in the system itself.”