Sarah Neumann
Iran’s presidential elections have long been a stage between two major factions: those advocating closer ties with the West and revolutionary hardliners favoring the East. These latest elections vividly highlight the deep connection between Iran’s domestic and foreign policies—a political theater of moderates versus extremists. While the prevailing Western perception is that Iran, as a revolutionary government, lacks the rationality for calculated diplomacy and has never sought to be a “normal” state, this view fails to capture the full picture. The current state of Iran’s internal politics, to some extent, is a direct result of Western policies—whether intentional or not.
For several reasons, Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency offers a rare chance to break the stalemate in Tehran’s relations with the West. The problem, however, is the pattern that has played out repeatedly in US foreign policy: strengthening the position of religious hardliners in Iran and derailing structural reforms. A look at recent history reveals how Washington’s policies have unintentionally driven Iran toward radicalism, preventing it from becoming a normalized state within the global order.
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