Gholamhossein Karbaschi: We Must Urge Rouhani to Wake Up from His Heavy Sleep

In recent months, conflicts between members of the Construction Workers Party and the Moderation and Development Party, both supporters of Hassan Rouhani, have become more public. Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the Secretary-General of the Construction Workers Party, has criticized the performance of Rouhani's government and raised the issue of his resignation. Es'hagh Jahangiri, the Vice President of Iran, is a member of the Construction Workers Party, while Mohammad Baqer Nobakht and Mahmoud Vaezi, the head of the Budget and Planning Organization and the President's office, are members of the Moderation and Development Party. Both parties were close to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. In a severe criticism of the government's performance, Karbaschi stated that Mr. Rouhani 'can step aside as a hero,' but if he does not consider his resignation in the national interest, he must 'wake up from this heavy sleep and face the people clearly and transparently.' In an interview with the October issue of the 'Andisheh Pouya' magazine regarding Rouhani's resignation, he said: 'It is a difficult decision. If he cannot do anything, he can step aside as a hero and say, 'Oh people, I wanted to do something, but it didn't happen; I hit a wall and now I am stepping aside.' This might help him not to be hated if he is not a hero.' Karbaschi also added that if Rouhani believes his resignation is 'not in the national interest,' he must strive to 'act clearly and precisely.' His remarks come at a time when calls for Rouhani's resignation have previously been made by his opponents from a different position than that of the reformists. Some conservative members of parliament, including Amir Khajasteh, have threatened that if the government cannot solve economic problems, they will pursue the President's incompetence. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, has also called for Rouhani's resignation and that of the Larijani brothers from the presidency of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Islamic Republic. However, Rouhani stated on Wednesday, July 6, that 'the government will neither resign nor withdraw' in light of the country's economic conditions and the intensifying US sanctions against Tehran. The Secretary-General of the Construction Workers Party also mentioned that the government's performance has not been what he and his allies had envisioned. He also stated that after the disqualification of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 'our only way was to support Mr. Rouhani.' According to Karbaschi, some criticisms of Rouhani were also raised in 2013, including that he has 'a kind of heavy weight characteristic in executive matters.' He emphasized that Rouhani is a 'sitting manager,' while a president should be 'a standing and actively executive manager on the scene.' Karbaschi also mentioned that the issue of lifting the house arrest of the Green Movement leaders was 'not a priority for Rouhani, and he only focused on foreign policy.' He stressed that the government 'even acted unprofessionally in the economic field.' The Secretary-General of the Construction Workers Party stated that the government needs to be 'urged to wake up from this heavy sleep.' After the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the disruption of the currency and gold market, criticisms of Rouhani's government have increased. Additionally, the government's plans to control the currency market have failed. Regarding Es'hagh Jahangiri, the Vice President, Karbaschi said: 'First, let’s see if Mr. Jahangiri is the first vice president of the Construction Workers Party or his own. Unfortunately, our country is not run by parties.' He emphasized that if Jahangiri wants to act politically, 'institutions and groups, including Rouhani himself, will criticize him for acting politically.' He stated that if he can serve, it is under the condition that he is not political and announces that he does not participate in party meetings. In response to the question, 'So you are distancing yourself from Mr. Jahangiri,' he said: 'The reality is that Mr. Jahangiri has distanced himself from us... and announced that he is not in the party's central council. Unfortunately, we have not yet reached the conclusion that the country should be run by parties, not individuals.' Since the beginning of Rouhani's second term, the media has reported several times on the conflicts between Es'hagh Jahangiri and some senior cabinet officials, such as Mahmoud Vaezi and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht. In recent months, some reformist activists, including Ali Shakouri Rad, have expressed concern about the 'usurpation' of the presidential election results by members of the Moderation and Development Party, especially Mahmoud Vaezi. Meanwhile, Hossein Marashi, a prominent member of the Construction Workers Party, has also criticized Nobakht's performance as the head of the Budget and Planning Organization. In contrast, the youth of the Moderation and Development Party issued a statement in response to the Construction Workers Party's criticism of Nobakht's retention in the presidency of the Management and Planning Organization. The youth of this party stated in their statement: 'Public opinion is waiting for this political group (Construction Workers) to simultaneously request changes in the government and the infusion of fresh blood into it, to explicitly respond and position themselves regarding the performance and retention or departure of their party members who are actively present in various economic layers of the country.' The open conflict between these two parties comes at a time when the Construction Workers Party was previously referred to as the left wing of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's associates, and the Moderation and Development Party as the right wing of his supporters. Karbaschi acknowledged in this interview that Rouhani's performance 'has also harmed his supporters.' In response to the slogan 'Reformist, Principlist, the story is over,' he said: 'The way you feel threatened by these limited slogans, I do not accept. Of course, I know that a system that has had criticisms, troubles, and problems within itself for forty years and has not resolved them should expect such words and slogans.' He emphasized that if reformists and principlists 'do not innovate and renew, society will not wait for them.' He also stated: 'People, even those who are the most dissatisfied, are not looking for violent solutions to the country's issues and are looking for internal solutions and are averse to foreign interference.' The slogan of protesters during the protests in December last year, 'Reformist, Principlist, the story is over,' was one of the slogans that received widespread media and social media coverage and can be seen as indicative of the pressure on reformists. Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security, acknowledged at that time that the December protests 'crossed all political currents in the country.' Mohammad Khatami, the former president, reacted to these slogans, stating: 'Some, using social networks, are trying to create a psychological war, trying to convey to Iranians, especially the Iranian youth, that the game is over, and we see that their greatest effort is to undermine reformists.' However, Mehdi Karroubi, one of the leaders of the Green Movement in Iran, expressed concern about 'the situation of the people' and called on various reformist currents to 'show that they truly care about the pain of the people and the country.' In this context, a case was filed against Karbaschi following his criticism of Iran's regional policy. Karbaschi was sentenced to one year in prison by the IRGC's intelligence unit. He stated that security and military institutions should not support Ahmadinejad, as he has no standing. A statement from dozens of political activists in support of 'direct negotiations' between Iran and the US was also issued.