Al Jazeera

Iran's Ebrahim Raisi will officially be sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Thursday. He comes into office facing multiple challenges, including tension in the Gulf and a resurgent coronavirus outbreak. The 60-year-old hardline Raisi replaces moderate Hassan Rouhani, who championed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that took a big hit after the United States unilaterally abandoned it in 2018 and went on to impose harsh sanctions.