Raesi Takes Oath of Office at Parliament as Iran’s Eighth President

The ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raesi, who was ratified as Iran’s new president on Tuesday, showed his distrust of the West at a time of escalating tension with the United States and other countries. In contrast to the openness that characterized his predecessor, the moderate Hasan Rohaní, during whose first term in office the historic 2015 nuclear deal was signed, Raesí is inclined to focus on internal capacities and relations with neighboring countries. This idea of not relying on the West is based on the sanctions imposed by the U.S. after its unilateral withdrawal in 2018 from the nuclear deal, which…