CASSIS Fellow Dr Ali Fathollah-Nejad on Europe's reaction to Masoud Pezeshkian's victory in the 2024 Iranian presidential elections Dr Ali Fathollah-Nejad's paper examines Europe's reaction to Masoud Pezeshkian's election victory in Iran.

In his latest publication, Dr Ali Fathollah-Nejad examines Europe's reaction to Masoud Pezeshkian's victory in the 2024 Iranian presidential election and challenges his portrayal as a reformist. In reality, Pezeshkian is loyal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and promotes the interests of the regime rather than those of reform. In his paper, Fathollah-Nejad criticises Europe's overly optimistic attitude and warns against repeating past mistakes. He also highlights the growing security threats posed by Iran, including destabilisation in the Middle East, military support for Russia in Ukraine and - widely ignored - threats to European security in the Mediterranean. A shift in EU policy towards Iran is also proposed to better address these growing challenges.