Iran's impending presidential election is shaping up much like the last one. As it was in 2013, the economy will again be the primary issue for voters as they head to the polls May 19. Iran's foreign policy has also figured prominently in the campaign, mostly as it pertains to a the country's economy. And each candidate, as usual, has striven to portray himself as the embodiment of the revolutionary ideals and moral tenets the Iranian president is charged with upholding under Article 115 of the Constitution.
But the similarities notwithstanding, much has changed in the four years since the last presidential vote. The country's economic straits, for example, have improved since President Hassan Rouhani implemented the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal Iran struck with the United States and five other countries in 2015 over its nuclear development. Tensions between the president and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...
