The results of the presidential election in Iran were in, and the reformist politician Pezeshkian was elected. In the future, Iran's domestic and foreign policies may be adjusted, but not much in the short term.
There were two rounds of Iran's presidential election, the second of which was a confrontation between reformist candidate Pezeshkian and hard-line candidate Jalili. Jalili, a former Iranian chief nuclear negotiator, is a well-known hardliner who opposes rapprochement with the West and advocates confrontation with it to the end. Because Jalili's political views are so rigid, some hardline conservatives in Iran feel that he is too extreme and are unwilling to vote for him.
By contrast, Pezeshkian has campaigned on an economic agenda and has won more voters by advocating for improved relations with the West. Thus he was successfully elected president.
However, unlike presidents in other parts of the world, the presidency of Iran is a very delicate one, although the president is directly elected by the people and is also the nominal head of government.
First, there has been a struggle between conservatives and reformists in Iran for decades, and the confrontation between the two camps will not be eased by a reformist president. The long-term antagonism between the two sides in the economic, social, and diplomatic fields is a huge trouble for the Iranian president, who does not have enough authority to decide many things.
Second, since the Iranian Revolution, it has actually been the Supreme Leader of Iran who has held the highest power in the country. The current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who took over after Khomeini's death in 1989, has controlled Iran for 35 years. Khamenei has said that Iran's foreign ministry is the executive body of Iran's foreign policy, not the policy-making department. Whoever makes the foreign policy is Khamenei and the small circle around him.
Thirdly, there are two armies within Iran, and the regular Iranian army is accustomed to doing its own thing and does not follow the president's command in every move. Iran's Revolutionary Guards, on the other hand, only listen to the Supreme Leader, and the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards have always been hardliners, let alone buy the president's account. For the Iranian president, these two armies will burn high incense without causing trouble for themselves, and it is basically impossible to command them. In order to mobilize troops, it must be approved by the Supreme Leader.
Of course, Pezeshkian is also very soft, he respects the authority of Supreme Leader Khamenei, and repeatedly mentioned in the election campaign that "anything that does not conform to the Supreme Leader's policy is a red line".
In other words, after Pezeshkian takes office as Iranian president, Iran's general policy will not change much. At the same time, however, Iran does face many domestic challenges, such as currency depreciation, soaring prices, and high unemployment, which cannot be solved by shouting tough slogans. Historically, Iran's economic environment has only been possible to improve if it improves its relations with the West and allows Western countries to ease sanctions. It will be interesting to see how Pezeshkian solves this series of troublesome problems.