Criticism from Reformist Leaders on Rouhani's Unfulfilled Election Promises

Abdollah Nouri, the Interior Minister in Mohammad Khatami's first government, stated that in a meeting with several senior reformist leaders and Hassan Rouhani, criticisms were raised regarding the government's economic actions, emphasizing the necessity of fulfilling his election promises. According to Mehr News Agency on Thursday, April 30, this meeting took place at Hassan Rouhani's home and included Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, Es'hagh Jahangiri, the First Vice President, and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a supporter of Rouhani in the elections and former head of the Leader's Office Inspection. Abdullah Nouri described the content of this meeting as 'criticisms regarding the planning and economic actions of the government,' and a request for 'transparency and greater utilization of Mr. Jahangiri's capacities.' According to Khatami, he emphasized the need for the 'implementation of election promises.' Nouri added, 'The outcome depends on Mr. Rouhani... Therefore, as the saying goes, the ball is now in Mr. Rouhani's court to positively respond to the expectations of civil society.' Last week, Khatami also urged Rouhani to become 'active' and fulfill his promise to lift the house arrest of Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Zahra Rahnavard. Khatami told Rouhani, 'Some openings have occurred, but it is not enough. It must be resolved. Go and solve this issue.' The former President of Iran explicitly stated in this meeting that 'when the President makes promises that are not fulfilled or, God forbid, are contradicted, problems arise. If it is said that the house arrest must be lifted, then this promise must be fulfilled.' Mehdi Karroubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since February 2011 as leaders of the protesters against the 2009 election results, and requests to end their house arrest or to trial them have not yielded results. Previously, some members of parliament and officials in Rouhani's government had expressed hope that their house arrest would be lifted by the end of 2017, but reports indicate that an open letter from Mehdi Karroubi to Ali Khamenei, which deemed the 'political, economic, cultural, and social situation today' in Iran as a 'direct result of his strategic and executive policies,' halted the matter. Officials in Rouhani's government have repeatedly promised to pursue the lifting of the house arrest, but this issue, which was also part of Rouhani's election slogans, has not yet been realized. The families of Mousavi and Karroubi and several political activists have criticized the Rouhani government for not taking practical steps to lift the house arrest. However, in recent months, changes have occurred in the situation of the house arrest, and besides some political activists successfully meeting with Mr. Karroubi, the restrictions on the timing of visits between Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard with their daughters have also been lifted. Fatemeh Karroubi, Mehdi Karroubi's wife, also criticized Hassan Rouhani during a meeting with several former members of parliament, stating that he has 'not fulfilled the rights of the detainees contrary to his oath.' Mrs. Karroubi added, 'We are in the eighth year of house arrest, and after this long period, very few openings have occurred.' She also pointed out that 'it is regrettable that he has not taken effective action to protect the rights of the detainees, both in the first and second terms.' Fatemeh Karroubi emphasized that the Supreme National Security Council's resolution regarding the house arrest is 'illegal even if such a resolution exists' and stated that Rouhani's government has not fulfilled the legitimate and legal demand of the people and the two detained families to see the Supreme National Security Council's resolution. Her reference is to a resolution that some officials of the Islamic Republic, including judicial officials, claim belongs to the National Security Council and ordered the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders. In contrast, Rouhani's government officials have denied the existence of such a resolution.