President Rouhani is a reformer, not a reformist, and he is a pragmatist who will do what he thinks is necessary to protect the nezam, or the system of the Islamic Republic, while working as president to improve the lot of his people. Where Rouhani will come in conflict with his hardline opponents is on the securitization of Iranian society—the oppressive and sometimes stifling atmosphere where the security services and police forces are far too present in the everyday lives of Iranians.

The Day After a Nuclear Deal by Houman Majd