Iranian President Rouhani Re-Elected

The incumbent Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, has won a huge endorsement from the Iranian electorate for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal in a comprehensive victory in Iran's presidential election on Friday. He becomes the fifth consecutive Iranian president to be re-elected for a second term in office claiming 23.5 million votes with his closest rival, conservative Ebrahim Raisi, on 15.8 million.

The reformist President Rouhani's campaign promises included opening further the way for foreign and private investment and lifting the remaining non-nuclear sanctions.  The JCPOA, which lifted US and EU nuclear sanctions against Iran, was a significant foreign policy achievement for President Rouhani in his first term, but the question of how the Iranian people have benefitted from the JCPOA was a frequent criticism used against him during the campaign.