A GOODWILL GESTURE

Iran’s cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected president with just under 62 per cent of the vote as voter turnout for Friday’s election was 48.8 per cent of the more than 59 million eligible voters.

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on winning Iran’s presidential election (“UAE leaders congratulate Raisi on winning Iran’s presidency,” Gulf Today, June 19).

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, have also dispatched similar messages of congratulations to Ebrahim Raisi.

Raisi has served in several positions in Iran’s judicial system, such as Deputy Chief Justice (2004–2014), Atorney General ( 2014–2016), and Chief Justice (2019-present). He was also Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran in the 1980s and 1990s. He was Custodian and Chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, a bonyad, from 2016 until 2019.

Raisi, 60, is set to take over at a critical time, as Iran seeks to salvage its tatered nuclear deal with major powers and free itself from punishing US sanctions that have driven a sharp economic downturn. He is also a member of the Assembly of Experts from South Khorasan Province, being elected for the first time in the 2006 election. He is the son-in-law of Mashhad Friday prayer leader and Grand Imam of Imam Reza shrine Ahmad Alamolhoda.

Hamadullah Sehar By email