Tested on all fronts, Iran’s Rouhani may struggle on reforms

Growing strains with the United States and political infighting at home threaten Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's plans to expand social freedoms, create jobs and draw in foreign investment, officials and analysts say.

Anti-Western hardliners defeated by Rouhani in the presidential election in May appear determined to take revenge by denying the pragmatic cleric an economic dividend, they believe.

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“Rouhani will continue to solicit the return of foreign businesses … to Iran without providing them with a much-needed change in behavior to boost their confidence,” said senior Iran analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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