Ebrahim Raisi takes office, as Iran and the West face off
Iran’s new president is greeted with a crisis over attacks on shipping. But he may not mind
ON THE FIRST day of his two-part inauguration on August 3rd, Ebrahim Raisi regretted that he could not kiss the hand of his mentor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, owing to covid-19 restrictions. But there was no doubting the bond between Mr Raisi, Iran’s new president, and Mr Khamenei, its supreme leader. Both men are hardline clerics who view the world, and the West in particular, with suspicion. “Trusting the West does not yield results,” said Mr Khamenei in the run-up to the ceremony.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Off to an interesting start”
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