Iranian conservatives appear to be coalescing around a challenger to President Hassan Rouhani's re-election hopes. On April 11, presidential hopefuls began registering for the May 19 vote, with President Hassan Rouhani set to declare whether he will pursue a second term in the coming days. Rouhani's path to victory is unlikely to be an easy one. Last week, after two months of speculation, highly respected conservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi announced his own candidacy. The rise of Raisi’s profile over the past year, along with his unmatched potential to unite the conservative vote -- especially if the election moves to a runoff -- has positioned him as a potent threat to Rouhani, though a string of successes for the president during his first term mean the race is expected to be competitive. The biggest policy implications of vote are likely to felt in the economic realm, not domestic social reforms or...
