let's remember that rouhani's also different from the previous reform government. he's much more of an insider, much more of a national security guy, much more of a person who i wouldn't say a reformist and not conservative, but much more of a regime insider than rouhani of her wasn't having ability to say things that i think he doesn't have them as he wants to jail, so i think for rouhani, because of his position and because of who he has been over the last 38 years. his acceptance speech thanked him and this is a guy who is not allowed to mention his name in the media and he thanked him for his support which was instrumental in getting young people to come out and vote, so i don't think it will come back to haunt him, to take a early. >> during the election campaign iranians get to commit truce and they get to party in the streets at night which are two things they love to do, so i guess the question is whether these freedoms will-- >> they won't. >> if they will exist? >> they want-- won't stack is or anyone else who has not asked a question? yes come over here.

. the case, the job becomes very hard for mr rouhani.he opponent was. even though he lost, i would argue that he now has 15.8 million supporters who are now behind him and this has given him greater credibility. going forward, rouhani will have two build some bridges with principal lists, conservatives and the political establishment. so if the supreme leader dies in the coming years, there will not be so much acrimony between all of the different factions. i'm sure you're watching events closely in riyadh, this is a strong mandate that mr rouhani has received from the iranian people, they want to continue in this direction of openness. saudi arabia is not going to iran, that's accepted. what are you expecting to come out of riyadh? i would hope that there would be some ridges built to teheran, notjust to riyadh. some policies here have failed the decades. part of the problem is that the region has not dealt with each other in a very effective and communal ways so there is no trust among the neighbourhood. and that is what needs to be bu

rouhani was able to extend his mandate.azing number of people coming out. 41 out of 56 million eligible iranian voters. 57% voting for rouhani. the polls suggested this would be close. but it was not close as the polls suggested. rouhani agives mandate. now the page turns, what comes next? the first challenge is going to be the domestic challenge because of the highest political authority in the country remains of the supreme leader of the ayatollah khomeini. how much reform can you really push through? the second challenge is going to be the u.s. presidency, donald trump, what they are going to do about sanctions going forward. let's get to our guest who has been talking to us about some of these issues. how much can he really push forward given the fact that he is still within the confines of the islamic republic? .> you are absolutely right i don't think he can do much. he can do very little within the bounds of the islamic republic set by the establishment. maybe he can improve the economy , the way things are produced

he listed the things that us wishes rouhani to do.is that rouhani now has a new term, and that he uses that term to begin a process of dismantling iran's network of terrorism, dismantling its financing of the terrorist network, dismantling the manning and the logistics and everything that they provide to these destabilising forces that exist in this region. that is what we hope he does. we also hope that he puts an end to their ballistic missile testing. we also hope that he restored the rights of iranians to freedom of speech, to freedom of organisation so that iranians can live the life that they deserve. that is what we hope this election will bring. well, meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people have come out onto the streets across iran to celebrate president rouhani's victory over the hardliners. kasra naji of bbc persian service reports. president hassan rouhani, the winner of the election by a wide margin. he had promised not to let the hardliners take the country backwards. he had promised to steer the country towards moder

hassan rouhani says foreign trade and investment are vital for future growth.l and gas sectors and ordered new aircraft from airbus and boeing. and peugeot are back making cars. but the main conservative challenger to hassan rouhani says the rapprochement with the us is failing. 0ne rapprochement with the us is failing. one in eight iranians is unemployed. the wealth gap is widening. he wants to give iranian firms the lead in rebuilding the economy, rather than dealing with the west, and wants more trade links with countries like china and russia. he also promises to create millions of newjobs for young iranians. but he has not yet said how. jeremy howell, bbc news. reza shaybani is chairman of the british photovoltaic association which is working in the solar energy business in iran. welcome to the programme. thank you. are you concerned about the elections? some of the markets could be reversed. not really. we see the acceleration of the growing economy will carry on regardless of... because the desire is there to make it happen? absolutely. iran is a growing

washington, quite well timed i guess foer rouhani and washington, quite well timed i guess for mr rouhaniweren't going to reimpose sanctions. there had been suggestions that donald trump being so suggestions that donald trump being so hostile to the nuclear deal that mr rouhani had helped to broker, that the sanctions might come back on and suddenly the economy, pressures on the president would be greater and that might become a problem for him. in a sense washington seems to have helped him out a bit. for the momentment -- moment. they tried to stay away and help president rouhani in a way by not pressurising him during the election campaign. that nuclear deal is still up election campaign. that nuclear deal is stillup in election campaign. that nuclear deal is still up in the air, in a sense, that hard liners in the us, president trump and the hard liners in congress, they still want to pile on more sanctions against iran. that might mean that the nuclear deal is doomed, in a sense, that deal is based on a premise that you lift the sanctions for iran abandoning its nuclear programme. bu

to come out on the streets to vote foer rouhani and to come out on the streets to vote for mr rouhaniani promised moderation, promised to open up the political atmosphere, expand and extend individual and political freedoms, put the economy back on track. so his message was a lot more attractive than the other side's, which was traditional, hardline islamic and inward looking. what will this mean for the average iranians? a better and the sphere to live in within iran. because hardliners, socially, have made it very difficult for very people to engage, to operate, to work and to be in contact with each other. on the foreign policy side, it means that president rouhani has got a bigger mandate to engage with the outside world. to open up this sort of inward looking policy of the hardliners. so he's got this mandate to engage more than before. what is that going to result in, how will we see a change? better relations with the outside world is hopeful but the hardliners have not finished, they aren't going to go away, they're going to make life very difficult for going to make life very

mr rouhani seemed to represent their best hope.nal community. translation: today the world is well aware that the iranians nation has chosen the path of interaction with the world. a path which is distant from extremism and violence. our nation seeks to live in peace and friendship with the world but is not ready to accept any disrespect or threat. his biggest achievement to date, a nuclear deal signed with world powers two years ago. today one of those involved in the diplomacy said she welcomed the president's win. i know how committed he is to continue the full implementation of the agreement but also how committed he is to engaging with the international community. but iran's regional ambitions in the middle east still complicate this difficult relationship. iran remains a big supporter of syria's president assad, in neighbouring lebanon, iran supplies and sponsors the hezbollah militia, in yemn it supports houthi rebels, and its influence over the government in iraq remains enormous. —— yemen. the trump administration says ira

i hope that rouhani has a new term and that he uses rouhani has a new term and that he usesit rouhanit to begin a process of dismantling iran's network of terrorism, dismantling the logistics and everything they provide to these destabilising forces that exist in the region. whatever mr rouhani wa nts, the region. whatever mr rouhani wants, everyone knows it is this man, the supreme leader, who calls the shots. there's only so much he's president can do. paul adams, bbc news. sport now. and it's been a busy day in rugby union. in the premiership semi—finals — saracens' hopes of consecutive domestic and european titles were ended by exeter. and wasps pulled off a last—minute win over leicester tigers. ade adedoyin watched the action. saracens, a team on a mission. the target, a second successive european and domestic double. the first part was achieved last week. standing between them and a place in the premiership final, exeter chiefs. there was little to separate the two sides in the first half. 6—6 with all the points coming from the boot. but straight after the break, exeter hit th

president hassan rouhani, the winner of the election by a wide margin.wards. he had promised to steer the country towards moderation. almost all the votes have now been counted, more than ai million of them. the iranian people have said a resounding no to the islamic hardliners by voting in droves for president rouhani, running for a second term in office, in a landslide. and the interior ministry in teheran, a sigh of relief that the election went peacefully. translation: mr rouhani won 23,5a9,6i6 votes, representing 57% of all votes. therefore he is elected the next iranian president. today, for many, a day of celebration, a big victory against the islamic hardliners who had intimidated them. this, just before the final results were announced. translation: i'm glad he was re—elected. of course, if, by the end of today, they announce it as a certain result i would be very happy. turnout was unprecedented, more than 73%. here in teheran more than 5 million people voted, twice that of 2013. many ran out of time while they waited in long queues although th

president rouhani replaced four years ago.llowing in the footsteps of former president. many here blame the hardliners were having brought the hardliners were having brought the country under paralysing international sanctions. isolating iran and pushing the country to the verge of a war with big world powers. to his supporters, president rouhani has saved the country from all of that. we are halfway through, we will not go back, says this placard. translation: the past four years we re translation: the past four years were too prepared the ground for action on his promises. we hope that president rouhani could have another four years so that he could fulfil all his promises. demanding the hardliners release the leaders of the reform movement under house arrest for the past six years. translation: the power structure in iran is such that the president has only about 20% of the power. iran is such that the president has only about 2096 of the power. the -- president rouhani has kept 80% of his promises and that is why i am happ

president hassan rouhani, the winner of the election by a wide margin.s. he had promised to steer the country towards moderation. this is him in his first televised message after his victory. translation: yesterday you said no to all those inviting us to return to all those inviting us to return to the past or remain stuck in the present. we have put iran back on the road to progress. almost all the votes have now been counted, more than 41 million of them. the iranian people have said a resounding no to the islamic hardliners by voting in droves for president rouhani, running for a second term in office, in a landslide. and the interior ministry in teheran, a sigh of relief that the election went peacefully. translation: mr rouhani won 23,549,616 votes, representing 57% of all votes. therefore he is elected the next iranian president. today, for many, a day of celebration, a big victory against the islamic hardliners who had intimidated them. jo brand, executed them, and drove them out of theirjobs —— jailed them, executed them. this, just before the fi

president hassan rouhani wants to have another term. openness in politics and society. rouhani was elected last time because he promised better relations with the outside world and the relaxation of economic sanctions through making a deal about iran's nuclear plans. president rouhani is running on the success of the deal in which iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear industry. if he loses, it's because voters think he's handling the economy badly. raisi opposed the nuclear deal when it was being negotiated, but now says he'd keep it, though he insists his toughness will make sure iran stays strong. whoever‘s going to be the next iranian president, whether it be hassan rouhani or ebrahim raisi, it's going to change the tenor of iranian politics, its ability to dialogue with the international community and the west, particularly the united states, and also its relationship with its neighbours in the region. whoever wins will have to work with the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini. in iran, he has the power and the last word. viewed f

rouhani is 60 years old. both candidates have been with the united states.domestic one. police here. he also supports subsidies. anna: this is the weekend when donald trump takes his first visit outside of the united states as president. he is going to saudi arabia. tell us how the candidates for in their attitude toward the united states. this a we talked about little bit yesterday, the united states has been an important part of the campaign here. you have seen the posters across the city. ultimately, they want the same thing. raisi wants to take a firmer stance against the united states. he does not believe the deals that have been struck, when it comes to the nuclear's agreement, and improved quality of life for the average ira nian. he also wants to expand influence in the region. whether that is enough to pull ,n a lead here against rouhani it remains to be seen. but on the ground, you have the sense that this will have an impact. you veryusef, thank much. let's see with the turnout is like and if there is a runoff. our middle east editor on the ground

rouhani's supporters want to silence those chants. they demand social and political reform, and better relations with the west. they say a vote for raisi is a return to isolation and confrontation. >> ( translated ): america is bad but it's not all bad. if we keep fighting and beating ourselves up, nothing will ever get done. >> reporter: tehran-based political analyst mohammad marandi says president donald trump's aggressive tone towards iran, coupled with some u.s. sanctions still in effect, have put rouhani's reelection in jeopardy. just this week the trump administration imposed new sanctions against iran over its ballistic missile program. >> they have not abided by their side of the bargain. by doing so they've hurt rouhani and his credibility. >> reporter: marandi says no matter who wins the vote, u.s.- iran relations will remain icy and, he says, there is little chance of confrontation. >> the iranians recognize the u.s. is in a very difficult position, that it can not launch another war. >> reporter: in this streets of northe

rouhani is mr. trump's very tough stance against iran, essentially he came in threatening to tear up the nuclear deal. now he's made moves that suggest he's going to maintain want nuclear deal. >> stewart: iran is involved in two proxy wars, one in yemen, one in syria, supporting bashar al-assad. will rouhani stay the course there? >> i think so. i think these are very important allies within the region. allies that are in the it comes neighborhood, in the region, it's their duty to protect their interests, and, of course, their interests include syria, iraq, and yemen. >> stewart: reporting from tehran, reza sayah, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> stewart: it may surprise you that 1.2 billion people-- 16% of the earth's population-- do not have access to electricity, according to the international energy agency. that includes 300 million people in india, 70% of the populations of cambodia, myanmar, north korea, and haiti, and much of sub-saharan africa. one country that has made great strid

according to polls, president rouhani is ahead, but these holes are unreliable. historical trends suggest he could be a winner. since the revolution in 1979, every iranian president has served a second term. molly: walk us through the key issues on voters' minds today as they cast their ballots. economy, economy, economy. i cannot stress how important this issue has been or despite clinching the historic nuclear deal and opening a ron up to the international community, very few benefits go down to the ordinary iranians it's 73 percent of them, polls say their lives have not improved. yes, inflation has dropped from 40% to single digits, which is unprecedented, but unemployment is still at 12%. another issue is social freedom. iran is due to reform 60% of the society them a very much attracted to this issue. something that has not really come up is national security. that is rather strange, seendering that you have the rise of the islamic state group and the conflict in syria. molly: how does this look compare to elections in the past year in the west, france , an

iran has re—elected its reformist president hassan rouhani. we are joined from washington by the executive director of the arabia foundation, welcome. thank you. and an iranian expert, welcome to you. thank you. you are sitting in washington, why do you think saudi arabia has claimed this prize of being the first stop on president trump's first foreign visit? it shows the centrality of the relationship, the enormous importance saudi arabia has for american interests in the middle east. the need to work closely with saudi arabia to fight terrorism and to deter iran. his advisers, his security advisers, secretary of state, they are strong believers in that. that is what has pushed the tremendous symbolism of this chip, for a president who had a lot of rhetorically on the campaign that caused people concerned. the fact he is making this tremendous gesture coming to riyadh now, addressing the muslim world, it is edge achievement for saudi arabia and shows this relationship is very strong and enduring. what do you think, is this causing worry in te

i am more interested to see if rouhani steps up. if he can cultivate his own independent base of support in ways that others did. can he carve out this middle path in continue to keep together arguably the most inclusive political coalition since the end of the iran-iraq war? i like to think that he can but nobody knows for sure. >> you get the last word. -- >> i actually want to give more credit to the iranian people instead of this kingmaker and that hang maker. i think people are make -- kingmaker. i think people are being strategical and transactional. people are making our choices and going in the directions they want. this is a populist. you cannot ignore. we see it in the politics. the question about human rights and other issues. they are trying to respond to it the public is raising. 41 million people voted. just voted this time. and they voted for change and reform. these are sort of tsunamis of change we are saying and they deserve the credit for them. >> on that, we are going to say thank you all to our beakers and thank

three months ago talk to any iranian, rouhani was odds-on favorite. raisi has been promoted by khomeini. even before that, raisi probably would have come third in a first round. he's a constructive candidate, representing as ali just said, representing a more conservative view, a more inward looking view of iran. iran is not naturally an inward looking country. the experience of multiple layers of sanctions over decades has tended to foster a strong suspicious tendency among the population. so raisi's message is not without strong populist support. i think raisi again, the turnout is crucial here. if we look at 70% plus, which is what rouhani's people think they will get that will be -- that would favor the president. much less than that and we might be seeing a more conservative outcome. of course you look back to 2009, where the apparent favorite mr. mousavi lost in a landslide. that led to six or eight weeks of serious riots and protests, mr. mousavi is still under house arrest. >> let me pick up on that point. is there a risk that we'll be seeing

or someone rouhani minded. assume that position at least when the supreme leader passes away. ask the original point, the coalition that he helped usher together that blossomed into rouhani's presidency and he was trying at least for 10, 15 years before it happened to make that happen and it was finally the extremists took over all branches of government and other reformists and conservatives saw the light in my view. , looking ahead, while i do think he was and will continue to be a kingmaker because at least in my view, i'm more interested to see if rouhani steps up. i am more interested to see if rouhani can cultivate his own inependent base of support ways that others did. can he carved out a middle path and continue to keep together arguably the most inclusive political coalition between the iran-iraq war. i would like to think that he can but nobody knows for sure. ,>> you get the last word. ms. naraghi-anderlini: thank you. i want to actually give more credit to the iranian people. what we are seeing is

what you think president rouhani will focus on?u think he will take the belligerent comments from trump over the weekend? i amn: we will see whether right or wrong and a few hours but i think you will respond in a cautious way. as the foreign minister responded in a cautious way. i think they will feel their way gradually. president rouhani has said that he wants to get the remaining nonnuclear sanctions lifted. that means he has to have either direct negotiations with europe to get further sanctions lifted work with the united states. it is a difficult task for him. but he has made this an explicit ambition that he will try to do that. i imagine that there will be backdoor talks about that as well. tom: norman lamont, it is wonderful to have you with us. --now you don't go back to with the state of iran as a formal state government and how great is the gulf right now from where you sit in your study, the distance between the sunnis and the shiite? norman: i know exactly what you are talking about. the 16th century. there were she

rouhani wins,if there is some tension.s is it going on at the same time when president trump is about to land in saudi arabia? also tensions there with israel? critical timing here for so many reasons? israeli first and then second, if you're going to take two countries to visit while the ns are out to vote, he could not send a stronger signal. in the countryside of iran, you're going to get a stronger reaction. most of my contacts are in the urban centers and you have the sense that they are going to vote for rouhani. at of 66 million voters, they of already counted 40 million ballots. the signaling from the white house is -- may not be constructive. scarlet: we talked about this election being a binary choice, it is a choice between extremes. does a country like iran take its cue i the election that we see in europe or the u.s. -- by the election we see in europe or the u.s., they have returned the establishment figure in france, versus we saw with the u.s. and the u.k. did. >> no doubt the trump election moves the needl

i think that the incumbent, hassan rouhani, was the most moderate options that many iranian moderateahim raisi on the other hand, is in many ways a mini me of it around's supreme leader who wants to stay loyal to revolutionary principles, animosity to the united states, a regime which retains its islamic piety, so i think even though the fact it was a close election, there was a stark choice between these two candidates and competition between them is genuine. but the big question will be, this election was rigged beforehand be, this election was rigged before hand given so be, this election was rigged beforehand given so many candles we re beforehand given so many candles were disqualified, the big question is, will also be big after the votes are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? —— read after the votes are counted? that remains to be seen. how will the west be seen after this election? much of the we st after this election? much of the west including the united states is in such internal disarray, that it is very inward focused, the

analysts say a high turnout will work in the favor of the incumbent hassan rouhani. no incumbent has failed to win reelection since 1981 so history side.rouhani's bring us up to speed on how the voting process went? >> officially in the islamic polls are expected to close at 9:00 but now they are not closing until midnight. this is done in iran to encourage higher voter turnout. voters are telling us for them rouhani is the man that should continue to be at the helm. they believe that he can bring about change, reform and certainly cultural and social progress. we then moved on to central tehran which is considered to be pooerf a conservative, area. we are expecting to find ebrahim and again werters were speaking to more rouhani supporters. with his populist rhetoric has targeted iran's working-class poor and it is the villages and smaller towns casting their ballots for him. he is come out to file a complaint about fraud. he says not enough ballots papers were sent to the small villages and towns. >> we have this report that state tv says voting has a just wrapped u

rouhani's supporters want a much more liberal iran. to see who will prevail in the ballot box. >> ali live from tehran, iran. you know you covered iran extensively. ali laid out what's at stake rnally but this is a vote people around the world will be watching. >> they say rouhani is moderate but that's a relative term. relevant in moderate is somewhat conservative, everybody running for president is somewhat quefshtive quefs conservative in iran. when you saw -- when you secretary tillerson come into office he said we're going to draw a hard line on iran. now we have to sort of look at how it is they're going to respond with the nuclear deal going forward. so far they've struck -- they stuck by the nuclear deal. and that's why rouhani's election could be so important moving forward. looking at syria, no matter who is the president of iran, their stance on syria will remain the same. considering that word moderate, like i said, in that it's so relative. its important to see exactly what will happen moving forward. also looking at presi

none of that is changed under rouhani.has been open to engagement with the rest of the world and willing to negotiate with the west with the nuclear program. >> rouhani is going to stay in place. he wants to be the custodian. that was helmed under your former boss, john kerry. will it stay that way with president trump? >> the tump administration said they are complying with their end of the nuclear agreement. the nuclear agreement, in my view and people in the region and the united states where it's increasingly popular, brought a measure of greater stability and removed one of the greatest threats to the region, the threat of their nuclear program, which is off theab, thanks to diplomacy, not going to war. >> our former chief of staff serving under john kerry. thank you for your insight. >> thank you. >>> we are awaiting the president's speech. stay with us. (burke) at farmers, we've seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a coupe soup. [woman] so beautiful. [man] beautiful just like you. [w

the relatively moderate incumbent, hassan rouhani, wants to normalize ties with the west , is facing strong challenge from a hardliner, who is close to the supreme leader ayatollah, -- results are due tomorrow. jeremy bowen has this assessment of how the vote could affect iran's future. jeremy: people are encouraged to vote in iran because it gives the system legitimacy, but candidates have to be approved by the unelected guardian council. it is looking like a close race between the main candidates, and at this polling station they are supporting hassan rouhani, the current president. >> i want social justice, social freedoms, political development, and good relations with all countries in the world. >> we will stand in these cues es for as long as it is needed in order not to go backwards, for the shutter of the war not to hang over people's heads. jeremy: iranian elections, for all their flaws, produce vigorous campaigns. candidates have traded accusations of corruption and criticized in iran's security policies. canrks that at other times land iranians in jail. iranians don't seem

president hassan rouhani promised to reach across iran's divide.was dominated by arguments of widening inequality. he won a resounding victory as voters endorsed his efforts to steer iran out of isolation over a its landmark nuclear deal. >> i think president rouhani during his second term is going to be much bolder in terms of economic reforms. obviously, the expectations of the people have been mounting, especially the core. -- especially the poor. i think he is going to put a lot of emphasis on creating jobs, continuing on economic growth, health care, environment issues people care about. he is going to be a lot bolder and faster in terms of economic reforms. yousef: that may be the case. bolder he wants to be and ambitions are all well and good, but the reality of a burgeoning u.s.-saudi arabia alliance, and the ballistic missile program sanctions, which are different from the nuclear missile program, how does that put a halt or period to his ambitions? >> despite what you mentioned, president trump's administration just renewed the sanction r

hassan rouhani is on course for a victory in iran.led to polling being extended by six hours. with me to discuss is a reporter from hours. with me to discuss is a reporterfrom our hours. with me to discuss is a reporter from our persian service. we are expecting results from the interior ministry at 7am in iran. expectations are that hassan rouhani will win. high turnout has changed that? yes. what are the differences between the hard line and the moderate, hassan rouhani. relations with the outside world. social freedoms. the state of the economy. the conservative conservative camp has always been arguing the government has mismanaged the country and they did not reap the benefits of the iran nuclear deal. they promised three times more benefits than the people are getting. they appealed to the poor who have not received the benefits of what was promised from the iran nuclear deal. on the other hand, hassan rouhani promises better relations with the west. he promises social freedoms and so on. he also promised to reduce the biting im

president hassan rouhani wants to have another term.d last time because he promised better relations with the outside world and the relaxation of economic sanctions through making a deal about iran's nuclear plans. president rouhani is running on the success of the deal in which iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear industry. if he loses its because voters think he's handling the economy badly. raisi opposed the nuclear deal when it was being negotiated but now says he'd keep it, though he insists his toughness will make sure iran stays strong. whoever‘s going to be the next iranian president, whether it be hassan rouhani or ebrahim raisi, it's going to change the tenor of iranian politics, its ability to dialogue with the international community and the west, particularly the united states, and also its relationship with its neighbours in the region. whoever wins will have to work with the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini. in iran he has the power and the last word. viewed from tehran, the country's a regional power with legitimat

the incumbent is president rouhani, relative moderate, who faces a hard-line contender. they are both clerics, and both thel to the values of islamic republic. however they could lead the country in very different directions. even though they both pledged support to the historic nuclear deal, rouhani wants to continue relations with the international community. another difference is that rouhani six foreign investment and his upon has called for a resistance economy, one that will seek to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. another major contrast lies in their support base. have said the followers can be compared to the followers of donald trump and hillary clinton. diplomatsay the u.s. held secret meetings. the opponent seems to have tapped into populist rhetoric and rouhani has garnered the support of iran's use, the more liberal, intellectual sector of society. we will see which direction the country will take. hospitals and public transport in greece have come to a standstill as the general strike paralyzes the country. thousands of people have walk

rouhani seeking a second term in office.idate gets more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held. >>> now, for more on the u.s. president's trip to saudi arabia. we're joined by our white house reporter jeremy diamond in riyadh. he did just land, again. we're seeing a lot of the reverence that the kingdom is showing right now to donald trump. having said that, i mean, even you, jeremy, you must have been confronted with so much news getting off that airplane. do you believe that it will distract from what is a very, very ambitious nine-day foreign trip? >> well, certainly, the swirl of controversies that this white house and this president are facing are continuing to dog him, even as he lands here in saudi arabia. as they traveled the several thousand miles from washington to riyadh overnight, several significant news stories breaking, including additional information and more allegations concerning the russian investigation, the investigation into potential contacts between trump campaign officials and russian officials

hassan rouhani has won a second term as president of iran with a convincing majority.arly 60% and avoided a run—off with his conservative challenger. mr rouhani had campaigned to continue his policies of greater engagement with the west and increased civil liberties. kasra naji from bbc persian said the result was not expected. we didn't expect this. nearly 60% and it's a resounding victory. a landslide almost. and it is in spite of the efforts of the hardliners to pull out all the stops and mobilise all the resources to bring out as many people as possible out to vote. it didn't work in the end. so it's a victory for people, an overwhelming number of people in iran, whose support the moderation that the president has been proposing. it's a revenge for them, in a sense, against people who exiled them, killed them, executed them all jailed them and drove them into exile. so, it's a defeat for those people. the rival who was defeated at being kind of targeting poorer voters saying he's the man to help revive the economy. in the past that has worked. why not this time? it

for hassan rouhani and it will be a very close election. been betterfor mohammad baqer qalibaf to stay in the race and take it to the second round where ebrahim raisi had a better chance of winning. in terms of policies, what other key issues that divide the main candidates?- the moment, it is economy. most of the moment, it is economy. most of the attacks on president rouhani is about the recession and the economy and they say the nuclear deal hasn‘t delivered what it promised to delivered what it promised to deliver and they say they will stick with it. but they say they were wipe out poverty, they will wipe out corruption, which i think is all very optimistic because there are fundamental problems with the iranians economy. at the moment, mr rouhani is the favourite to win and continue. if he does, what will be the reasons for that? why is he still a very popular leader? the reasons for that? why is he still a very popular leader7|j the reasons for that? why is he still a very popular leader? i think he has been manoeuvring a lot on soci

mark: president rouhani looking for a second term.oining us now is the bloomberg markets: middle east anchor. what is it like on the ground? incredible. i have covered my fair share of votes over the year and the amount of energy and passion here. we've been on the ground since the early hours. 55 million eligible iranians. mark: we have lost yousef. we will try to get back to him. i think we can go back to him. yousef, please continue to tell us what it is like. it seems to be quite a scene. >> it is quite a scene. as i was saying, a lot of energy here. two very different stories that are crystallizing. you mentioned those, one is hassan rouhani. the votes are expected to trickle away. the results will come in fast after that. if you candidate gets more than 50%, you could be looking at a runoff. we understand that ronnie has a little bit -- that hassan rouhani has a little bit of an edge. the quality of life for iranians, has it improved enough to justify a second term? and how about the supreme leader fitting into the situation. th