Election

Coverage of Iran’s 2021 presidential election varied widely based on the longstanding political slant – reformist, centrist, conservative or hardline – of newspaper editorial policies. Almost 600 candidates, including 40 women, initially registered to run by May 15. They included a former president…
In a new report issued on March 16, U.S. intelligence charged that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei authorized a covert cyber campaign to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The campaign’s goal was to “undercut former President Trump’s reelection prospects – though without…
The Iranian media was transfixed by the U.S. election, with more than a dozen newspapers covering the race largely from their own ideological perspective – reformist, centrist, conservative or hardline.  Conservative and hardline papers focused on the confusion surrounding the result. "Tensions…
Iranian newspapers from across the political spectrum – reformist, centrist, conservative and hardline – closely tracked the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The papers differed in their coverage based on their ideological leaning. Reformist and centrist outlets covered former Vice…
      In a meeting with the judiciary, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested that a deal on Iran’s controversial nuclear program would be “easy” to achieve if unspecified countries in an “anti-Iranian front” were not so stubborn. “If they set aside stubbornness, resolving the Iranian…
      On June 17, president-elect Hassan Rouhani called for new ways “to build trust” with the international community on Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Rouhani, in his first press conference, said both the United States and Iran need to find a way to heal "a very old wound.” He spoke…
Shaul Bakhash            Hassan Rouhani’s surprising first round victory in the presidential elections represents a significant shift in the Iranian political landscape. In a field of candidates dominated by conservatives, Rouhani ran as a moderate. He questioned the necessity of the expanding…
            Top Iranian leaders used their congratulatory messages to President-elect Hassan Rouhani to offer their own takes on the election results. Some seemed unwilling to concede the defeat of the hardliner “principlist” camp. Other leaders focused on the high turnout rather than Rouhani’s win…
            In two separate statements, the United States called on the Iranian government to heed its people’s will after the surprise election of Hassan Rouhani in the first round of presidential elections. The Obama administration also “remains ready to engage with the Iranian government…
      The Iranian press issued both praise and warnings after the election of Hassan Rouhani. In their editorials, reformist publications said the victory by a moderate cleric reflected a rejection of the status quo in politics, the economy and foreign policy. Newspapers heralded the beginning of a…