Iran’s new president is considered moderate. But he does not want to change course against Israel.
Iran’s newly elected President Massoud Peseschkian wants to stick to his country’s anti-Israel policy. In a letter to the Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, he declared with regard to Israel, according to the Isna news agency: “Iran’s support for the resistance front against the illegitimate Zionist regime will continue with vigor.” He hoped that groups like Hezbollah would not allow Israel to “continue its warmongering and criminal policy against Palestine and other countries in the region,” his letter continued.
Iran is the most important supporter of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Shiite militia fights against Israel politically, but also with violence. It is part of Iran’s “axis of resistance”.
Peseshkian, who is considered relatively moderate in Iran and who prevailed against a hardliner in a runoff election on Friday, is expected to be sworn in at the beginning of August. How much influence Peseshkian will have on foreign policy, for example, depends largely on religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful man in the state.
Despite his rhetoric, which was rather moderate by Iranian standards, Peseschkian supported the powerful Revolutionary Guard during the election campaign and, for example, praised the attack with drones and missiles on arch-enemy Israel in April.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
