Rohani Support Wave Matched by Task of Fixing Iran Economy

When Hassan Rohani won Iran’s presidential election this month, he garnered more votes than when his predecessor swept to power eight years before. He also gained a larger list of things to fix.

Rohani, 64, a lawyer, cleric and former diplomat, inherits an economy that under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was defined by falling oil exports because of international sanctions, accelerating inflation, a currency collapse and enduring unemployment. He’s also confronted by a political scene marked by squabbling over how to drag Iran out of the mire amid pressure from the U.S. and European Union over its nuclear program, which Israel has vowed to curb by any means.