According to reports, Gholam Ali Dehqan, the spokesman of the Moderation and Development Party has said that Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani is committed to form a moderate and extra-factional cabinet that would consist of both principlists and reformists. Dehqan also mentioned that Rohani will use the potential of various political parties, and this constitutes meritocracy in the cabinet of the 11th administration. 1

In another development, reports noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Iran in August to try and restart talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Putin’s visit is planned for mid-August, shortly after Iran’s new President Hassan Rohani formally takes office on August 3. It will be Putin’s first trip to Iran since 2007. Moscow hopes the visit will provide impetus to restart the currently stalled talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Western powers have expressed cautious hopes for a change in tone in talks after the June election of Rohani, a centrist cleric who has vowed to engage constructively with the international community and to ease tensions raised by Tehran’s nuclear programme. Meanwhile, both the sides have not officially confirmed the visit. 2

• 1. “Rohani determined to form a moderate, extra-factional cabinet,” Mehr News Agency, July 27, 2013, at http://old.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1825521
• 2. “Putin to visit Iran for nuclear talks”, Mehr News Agency, July 25, 2013, at http://old.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1825437