Hassan Rouhani's election as the new Iranian president augurs well not only for that country but also for a world tired of the senseless rhetoric from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
When, at a campaign speech, Rouhani stated, "We have no option rather than moderation," he was also defining what will be one of the main characteristics of his government: a more conciliatory approach to the world and an end to the country's international isolation.
Rouhani has a special appeal to the country's youth — two-thirds of Iran's 70 million people are under 35 — whose wishes for a freer, more open country were dashed under Ahmadinejad. Rouhani has already indicated that he will curb the activities of the morality police, who arrest women for not wearing proper scarves and coats, lift Internet restrictions and, in consensus with government officials, free political prisoners.
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