Iran’s new president seeks reform — of the American-led world order

Iran’s newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, will not reform the Islamic Republic’s internal political system. Instead, he will pursue reformation of the global order — hand-in-hand with China and Russia. 

Take his word for it. One week after his election, Pezeshkian published an opinion column in the Tehran Times, outlining the vision for his presidency. His words are calculated, courting European countries while criticizing America for exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. He denies the pursuit of nuclear weapons in Iran’s military doctrine while criticizing America for “abusing” the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The key to Pezeshkian’s message, though, is neatly tucked away in the middle of his column. “China and Russia have consistently stood by us during challenging times,” he writes. “We deeply value this friendship.” 

The Islamic Republic indeed values China and Russia for providing the regime with the cash flows necessary to circumvent Western sanctions. Iran has been supplying Russia with drones and missiles to wage its war of aggression on Ukraine. This provides massive funding to relieve pressure from sanctions on the regime. China remains the No. 1 importer of Iranian oil. Approximately 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports are delivered to China, according to a European research firm, Kpler. The oil is shipped using dark fleet tankers, while China sends payments to Iran through small Chinese banks. 

Pezeshkian builds on his appreciation for sanctions relief by discussing the 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China signed in March 2021. “We look forward to collaborating more extensively with Beijing as we advance towards a new global order,” he writes. The accord elevated the relationship between Tehran and Beijing to a strategic, long-term level.

Relations with Iran “will be permanent and strategic,” China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said just before the signing ceremony in 2021. “China seeks to comprehensively improve relations with Iran,” said Wang. The deal includes sustained Chinese investments in energy, banking, transportation and cybersecurity. These investments in the Islamic Republic are valued at $400 billion, according to a draft of the deal obtained by the New York Times. That is $400 billion worth of sanctions relief allowing the Iranian regime to maintain domestic control and support its proxies abroad — including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

Pezeshkian will also “remain committed to expanding and enhancing” the regime’s cooperation with Russia, as he writes in the Tehran Times. He placates the West by expressing his support for “peace for the people of Russia and Ukraine,” but does not mention how this will be achieved. 

Rather, the Iranian president-elect emphasizes cooperation with Russia through “frameworks such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Eurasia Economic Union.” BRICS works to counter the current world order, including a call for the creation of a new currency to challenge the U.S. dollar. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established by China and Russia in 2001 as part of China’s long-term plan to displace the American order.

The Eurasia Economic Union is but a front for economic deals between Russia and its satellite states of Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In other words, Pezeshkian will work under the frameworks which pose an economic and political challenge to America and the West.

Furthermore, Pezeshkian recognizes China, not America, as the new power broker in his backyard. He cites China negotiating rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023 as evidence of its “constructive vision and forward-thinking approach to international affairs.” The Biden administration’s failed withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, its lack of response to Iranian proxy attacks on American assets and personnel, and its withholding of military support for its allies in the Middle East demonstrate weakness and retreat from the region. The Islamic Republic knows it, and Pezeshkian is no exception.

Masoud Pezeshkian is explicitly telling the world he wants a new global order, centered around China, Russia and his Islamic Republic. The United States of America, and the West, does not fit into this vision. Western leaders should treat the new Iranian president as the reformist he is — of the American-led world order.

Gabriel Diamond is a fellow at the Yorktown Institute.