'Dawn of new era': Iran's conservative press hails Raisi win

Iran's conservative press on Sunday celebrated the presidential election win of ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi while the marginalised reformist camp engaged in deep soul-searching.

"The Dawn of a New Era," read the jubilant front-page headline of the conservative Resalat daily, welcoming the 62 percent win by Raisi, the head of Iran's judiciary, in Friday's election.

An austere and pious figure from the Shiite Muslim clerical establishment, Raisi is seen as close to the 81-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate political power in Iran.

Raisi will take over from moderate President Hassan Rouhani as Iran seeks to salvage its tattered nuclear deal with major powers and free itself from punishing US sanctions that have driven a deep economic crisis.

Resalat predicted a welcome change from the Rouhani administration which it said has been dogged by political infighting and occupied with "fruitless domestic and foreign challenges".

The moderate Jomhouri-e Eslami daily meanwhile highlighted that the conservatives had now cemented power across the state, also including parliament, the courts, the powerful Guardian Council and the armed forces.

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