Rouhani Described the Perception of a Gap Between Leadership and Government as 'Naive'

The President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, reiterated his defense of the nuclear agreement in Vienna, known as the JCPOA, and the performance of his government, stating that 'some naively think there is a distance between the leadership and the government, but the government is subordinate to and alongside the leadership.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Rouhani spoke on Thursday, April 10, in a meeting with a group of youth from Gilan province, saying, 'Some ask what the JCPOA has achieved, but I say what would have happened if there was no JCPOA. If inflation had been 40 percent instead of 7 percent, what would the people's situation have been?' He emphasized that in the previous government, salaries for employees and workers increased by 17 percent amid 40 percent inflation, while in the eleventh government, salary increases have been 'more than inflation.' Rouhani added, 'This does not mean that problems have ended and we have no shortcomings, but it means that... relatively, a desirable movement has occurred in foreign policy, domestic affairs, universities, the economic situation, and political factions, creating a sense of calm.' Rouhani has previously emphasized that the Vienna nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, has removed the 'shadow of war' from Iran and has brought significant economic achievements for the country. However, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and his close associates have repeatedly stated that this agreement has practically had no 'achievements.' Meanwhile, the President of Iran said on Thursday that the six major powers in the nuclear negotiations were 'monitoring the people's support for the negotiators, the nuclear talks, and the government moment by moment.' He added, 'How can we negotiate with the world's powers when they feel that we have no popular backing and, God forbid, there is a gap between the leadership and the government and between the government and the parliament?' Rouhani stressed, 'Some naively think that there is a gap between the leadership and the government, but the government is subordinate to and alongside the leadership. The enlightened leadership is our leader, and we take pride in this cohesion and unity.' Rouhani's statements come at a time when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has criticized the government's performance in the economic sector several times in the months leading up to the presidential elections. He has named the new year as 'the year of resilient economy: production, employment' and stated that there is 'a significant gap between the actions taken and the expectations of the people and the leadership.' Hours after Khamenei's Nowruz message, Rouhani defended his government's performance, stating that 'even the next ten governments will not be able to solve all the problems,' but that his government has chosen a 'correct' path towards reducing problems. He also stated in a letter to the Supreme Leader that his government has a 'deep' belief in 'resilient economy' policies, resulting in 'significant growth in domestic production.' This comes as some Friday prayer leaders in various cities criticized the government's economic performance during the first Friday prayer of the year and in the final days of the previous year. In another part of his speech, Rouhani emphasized the need to increase voter participation in the 2017 presidential elections, stating, 'If everyone goes to the polls, it is you who create the ballot box and the fate of the country, and history has shown that wherever we have been united, we have succeeded.' 'Some want to... discourage the people,' the President of Iran said in another speech in Gilan province, referring to his recent remarks in Kurdistan and 'some incorrect accusations' against the government, adding, 'Some want to imprison everything and discourage the people. Some are trying to say that the people who voted in 2013 and chose the eleventh government did not do a good job, but the people of Iran did a good job in 2013, and the person who is elected is the representative of the people.' On Saturday, April 5, Rouhani criticized the judiciary, stating, 'With effort and pleading, we bring someone here to invest, and suddenly someone whimsically decides to summon them over a trivial matter. It is not possible to work like this.' The next day, the head of the judiciary rejected Rouhani's remarks, stating, 'The judiciary is not a place where someone is summoned on a whim, and it is completely incorrect to say that such actions cause a lack of investment.' The President and the head of the judiciary have previously publicly protested against each other and made accusations against one another. For instance, in December 2016, the head of the judiciary accused Rouhani's campaign in the 2013 elections of receiving help from Babak Zanjani, a wealthy imprisoned businessman, and Rouhani's Twitter account called for transparency in the judiciary's accounts. After the conflict between government officials and the judiciary, the Supreme Leader stated on January 8, 2017, that he would not comment on the dispute between the heads of the executive and judicial branches, but added that 'everyone should appreciate the existence of an independent and courageous judiciary.'