Mostafa Mir-Salim Criticizes His Election Rivals' Approach

In a letter addressed to his election rivals, Mostafa Mir-Salim wrote that in the first debate of the presidential candidates, 'conflict' took precedence over accountability, and he urged them to reconsider their approach. In the letter published on Saturday, April 29, he did not mention the names of his rivals but asked them to focus on the 'positive aspects of their programs' in future debates. On Friday, April 28, the first live televised debate among six presidential candidates in Iran ended with a verbal clash between Hassan Rouhani, Eshaq Jahangiri, and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. In this round of debates, which focused on social issues, Rouhani, Jahangiri, and Qalibaf harshly criticized each other. In response to these verbal disputes, Mir-Salim wrote that they should not forget that 'the people,' 'the media,' and 'enemies' are watching them. He stated that 'our words should not be such that in order to crush a rival, we exaggerate an exceptional issue to the extent that it provides food for the enemy.' Mir-Salim added that candidates in future debates should be careful not to fall into 'blame and blameworthy disputes' instead of 'the best argumentation' and should avoid 'the trap of insults and evading responsibility.' In another part of his letter, he wrote that 'ignoring strengths and blackening everything from the past is contrary to fairness and prophetic ethics.' He also added that 'the growth of media and public oversight has reached a point where the possibility of denying promises and performances no longer follows theories such as the big lie and will lead to immediate disgrace.' Mir-Salim did not refer to these promises, but it seems that he is aligned with the recent statements of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who claimed that Hassan Rouhani had promised to create four million jobs in the past. In response to Qalibaf's statements, Rouhani said that these remarks were made on an 'unknown' website, were 'lies,' and he never made such a promise. Mir-Salim's letter to his rivals was published at a time when the ongoing disputes and attacks between Qalibaf, Rouhani, and Jahangiri have spilled over into social media and traditional media, continuing unabated. Since the evening of Friday, media outlets and social networks of these three presidential candidates have been publishing images, documents, and accusations against each other.