Rohani's Nowruz Message: 'JCPOA 2: First Ethics, Then Economy'

Hours before the criticism from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding the 'imposition' of 'JCPOAs two and three', the President of Iran in his Nowruz message referred to the elections of 7th Esfand as the beginning of 'JCPOA 2' and stated that 'this JCPOA starts with ethics before economy'. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hassan Rouhani also expressed hope that the year 1395 (2016) would be a year of 'ethics', 'joy', 'vitality', and 'cooperation and solidarity for building Iran'. On Sunday, the first of Farvardin, he said that the people had 'unlocked JCPOA 2' in the elections of 7th Esfand 94 (February 2016). He added: 'JCPOA 2 is the national joint action within the country that will begin with unity, reconciliation, and cooperation; a JCPOA that starts with ethics before economy.' On Wednesday, 14th Bahman 94 (February 2016), Hassan Rouhani also spoke about the necessity of implementing 'JCPOA 2' domestically, and members of his government have also called for taking the nuclear negotiations as a model for resolving other disputes Iran has with global powers. Hours after the publication of Rouhani's Nowruz message, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in his speech in Mashhad stated that the Western side 'does not consider the resolution of the nuclear issue sufficient' and wants to convey that 'JCPOAs two and three, etc., must be created for us to live comfortably'. Like in previous years, Khamenei has named the year 1395 as the year of 'resistance economy, action, and practice'. Nevertheless, Hassan Rouhani in his Nowruz message said: 'We must ask from the great God that our year be a year of ethics, a year of joy and vitality, and a year of cooperation and solidarity for building our dear Islamic Iran.' He emphasized that in the 'revolutionary society' of Iran, there should be 'no trace of lies, accusations, suspicion, bad language, and harshness' and 'corruption' remaining. The President of Iran also considered Nowruz at the beginning of his message as 'the meaning of washing the heart from grudges' and said that we ask God to 'remove anger from our sight, conflict from our speech, and harshness from our behavior'. On Saturday, 22nd Esfand 94 (March 2016), he also severely criticized what he called the 'prevalence of slander and insult' and 'narrow-mindedness' in the political atmosphere of the country, stating that 'some cannot see the greatness and prosperity of the nation'. Previously, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, in his Nowruz message referring to the results of the elections of 7th Esfand 94 addressed the people stating that 'together we pledge that by the grace of this transformative holiday... we will replace falsehood, lies, warmongering, and self-centeredness with truth, honesty, peace-seeking, and respect for collective wisdom'. Mohammad Khatami, the former President of Iran, also in his Nowruz message expressed hope that in the year 1395 hearts would be 'cleansed from the tarnish of anger and mistrust' and 'a safe and free environment would be created so that the people of the region could be liberated from the monster of war, anger, chaos, killing, invasion, narrow-mindedness, and regression, and the world would move towards peace and reconciliation on the path of justice'. He also expressed hope that in Iran 'in an atmosphere dominated by freedom and solidarity, the government and the nation would succeed in building and developing the spiritual and material aspects of the country and solving numerous problems'. Expressing hope for achieving a five percent economic growth, Rouhani in his Nowruz message also referred to the Vienna nuclear agreement and Iran's efforts to increase its oil sales, expressing hope that the economic growth of the country in 1395 would reach five percent, which is 'twice the average of the past ten years'. The President of Iran had previously stated that a five percent economic growth was considered in the budget for 1395. In 1393 (2014), Iran's economic growth reached three percent, but the increase in economic growth did not continue, and this figure in the first nine months of the last year was seven-tenths of a percent. According to the Central Bank of Iran's report, economic growth in 1392 (2013) was negative 1.92 and in 1391 (2012) it was also negative 6.8 percent.