The Iranian presidential elections: plus ça change?

On 18 June 2013, the European Foundation for Democracy hosted a closed-door policy briefing on the recently held presidential elections in Iran. The guest speaker was Mehdi Kalaji, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. During the briefing, Mr. Khalaji provided an analysis of the results of the elections, which took place on 14 June. He analysed the decision-making dynamics within the Islamic Republic, focusing on the roles of the supreme leader, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the President, in this process and assessed the potential implications of Iran's nuclear policy and regional aspirations in a post-Ahmadinejad era.

Will the new President be a moderate or another conservative and does that matter? What are the factors that could change government policy? What will a change of President mean for Iran’s regional and international relations? These are just a sample of the many questions deliberated during the lively Q&A session.