Rouhani: Criticism and Protest are the People's Right in All Matters

The Iranian President's website has published statements from Hassan Rouhani during the Cabinet meeting on Sunday, where he referred to the recent protests in Iran for the first time. In these statements, Mr. Rouhani said, "Criticism and protest are the people's right in all matters," although he added that "criticism is different from violence and the destruction of public property." The Iranian President also stated that "it is inaccurate to return all the people's criticisms to the executive apparatus; people have criticisms regarding the need for a more serious fight against corruption and why some issues are not well explained to them." He linked the roots of economic problems to previous years and mentioned that "the people's criticism is not only about the economy; they are talking about corruption and transparency, and they say issues must be transparent." Mr. Rouhani also warned that "the government will not tolerate any group that seeks to destroy public property or disrupt social order or create chaos in society." The widespread protests in various cities of Iran marked their fourth day on Sunday, and although the initial day of protests focused more on economic issues and criticism of executive officials, the scope of these protests expanded to government policies and slogans opposing the revolution, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and other officials. Official media in Iran remained silent about these widespread protests until Saturday, but on Saturday evening, media outlets, especially those close to security sources, referred to the protesters as rioters and claimed they had engaged in the destruction of public property. Despite warnings from security and police officials and the Minister of Interior regarding the continuation of protests, demonstrations on Sunday spread to more cities. Judicial and security officials reported the arrest of more than 370 people in various cities in recent days, with "about 200 of these individuals" arrested on Sunday in the vicinity of Enqelab and Vali Asr streets in Tehran. On Sunday, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, reacted to the protests in Iran for the umpteenth time in recent days, stating that the U.S. is closely monitoring human rights criticism in Iran. The President had previously emphasized that protesting citizens in Iran are fed up with government corruption and had urged the Iranian government to respect the rights of the people, including the right to freedom of expression. Other American officials, alongside Mr. Trump, have emphasized support for peaceful protests in Iran, including Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and Senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, John McCain, and Bernie Sanders. These supports, which provoked a reaction from the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, were also met with a response from Hassan Rouhani, who said, "This gentleman who today wants to sympathize with our people has forgotten that a few months ago he called the Iranian nation terrorists; this person, who is entirely against the Iranian nation, has no right to show sympathy for the people of Iran." Earlier, Donald Trump had also emphasized that Iranian leaders fear their own people more than U.S. military power, and that repressive regimes will not be tolerated forever.