THe shouts Iran’s desire for change couldn’t be clearer. In the July 5 presidential election, 16.4 million Iranians voted for Massoud Pezeshkian, a reform-minded heart surgeon who called for talks with the West and for women to dress freely. Just 13.5 million voted for Saeed Jalili, a hardliner who called for confronting Western “enemies,” enforcing Iran’s conservative norms, and preserving the status quo. Even supporters of the regime were skeptical of his message. Jalili received 8 million fewer votes than the two hardliners running for president in 2021.
In a testy television debate, Pezechkian called for negotiations with the United States to lift sanctions and free Iran from the “cage.”Iran Gafas Nist” Jalili, whose name means “Iran is not in a cage” in Persian, countered by arguing that the missiles fired by Iran and its proxies at Israel prove that the country has already won its freedom. The opposing visions sparked fierce debates in the streets about whether to boycott the theocratic regime or vote to stem the tide of expected Talibanization and rising tensions with the West under Jalili. In the end, Iranians chose both: enough votes were cast to elect a reformer (Pezezhkian mobilized 8 million more votes in the runoff than in the first round). But even though just under 50% of eligible voters cast their ballots, it still sent a message that Iranians had lost faith in the regime. “Those who voted for (Pezezhktian) and those who did not were one team driven to civil disobedience,” former political prisoner Farhad Meisami said in a widely shared social media post.
