Now for Iran to get busy

Rouhani's victory in the presidential elections was good news for Iran's energy sector, but major oil and gas expansion still faces delays

At the end of April, President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the Persian Gulf Star refinery in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. Part of his campaign for re-election, the overdue completion of this important facility showed the inescapable link between Iran's oil and prosperity. His convincing electoral win, overcoming a potential Achilles' heel on the economy, keeps the hopes of the oil sector alive. Rouhani, the incumbent, strikingly fought an outsider's campaign, changing tack late on to criticise his main opponent, hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi. Rouhani won Tehran strongly, along with the ethnic and religious-minority dominated provinces, and secured a solid victory in Khuzestan, the