Hassan Rouhani ©AP Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran Hassan Rouhani , Iran’s centrist president, may have regime backing in his efforts to reach an agreement with major powers over his country’s nuclear programme, but he is struggling to implement domestic reform as hardliners block his attempts to expand civil liberties. Mr Rouhani is not a reformist but largely owes his surprise victory in the June presidential election to pro-reform groups who mobilised voters in the hopes that his promises of moderation could bring more social and political freedom and improved economic conditions after eight years of suppression under president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. But while the president and his government have the strong support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and ultimate decision maker, in foreign policy and nuclear negotiations, they remain unprotected in the tense power struggle with hardliners on domestic issues. “A complicated power struggle is going […]