Rouhani Emphasizes 'Constructive and Effective Interaction with the World'

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, announced on Thursday, August 12, during the presidential inauguration ceremony that in the next four years, he will continue 'with more confidence than before on constructive and effective interaction with the world within the framework of the Constitution.' In his speech, Rouhani again referred to the Vienna nuclear agreement as 'a sign of Iran's goodwill and interaction,' stating that 'although our country pays the cost of its independence with dignity, it will never accept the imposition of isolation by enemies.' The Iranian President also pointed to the results of the presidential election on May 29, saying, 'We have once again heard the voice of the people and must fully pay attention to their hopes and trust.' He won the election with 23.5 million votes, accounting for 57% of the votes. Rouhani's remarks came at a time when close associates of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic refer to the Vienna nuclear agreement as 'damaging' and severely criticize the government's foreign policies. In this context, the President's comments about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in recent weeks have drawn protests from close associates of the Supreme Leader. On July 1, Rouhani implicitly criticized the activities of the IRGC, stating that part of Iran's economy is in the hands of a 'government' that 'has both guns and media' and 'no one dares to compete with them.' Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, called these remarks 'unfair,' stating that if the government is 'without guns,' it will be 'humiliated and surrendered by enemies.' Several other IRGC commanders, the spokesperson for the judiciary, and the secretary of the Guardian Council also criticized these remarks. In his speech on Thursday, Rouhani emphasized that 'after the elections, a season of solidarity has begun; it is time to enhance the efficiency of the system using all our capabilities under the shadow of Islam to gain the satisfaction of the people.' He stated that 'after four decades, all groups and currents have realized that beyond colorful slogans, we have no choice but to build a just and moderate society,' adding that 'the realization of people's rights can only be achieved by relying on moderation, avoiding extremism, and upholding the law and legal governance.' These statements come at a time when human rights and civil organizations have repeatedly criticized the government's performance in dealing with activists and civil organizations. Rouhani also described Iran as 'a collection of diversity and multiplicity' where women, men, youth, and various ethnicities and religions 'do not live in a single way' and have different lifestyles. He further stated that 'the Twelfth Government considers increasing job production as its main priority and has designed its economic program based on the general policies of the system, especially resistant economy and Article 44, aiming to create an economic revolution.' The Iranian President emphasized that 'the eradication of poverty,' 'economic growth,' 'the dignity of Iran and its people in international forums,' 'accessing regional markets,' 'growth of cyberspace,' 'ease of access to information,' 'justice and equality before the law,' 'having a secure future,' and 'the right to express opinions, dialogue, knowledge, and being informed about the country's affairs' are the rights of the people. The Supreme Leader has repeatedly emphasized the implementation of the 'resistant economy' plan, which aims to withstand the pressures of international sanctions. He also stressed this issue in the text of the presidential inauguration decree. Iran's economic policies have faced criticism not only from Rouhani's conservative opponents but also from labor and civil activists who argue that these policies have led to increased class disparities and widespread poverty with incomes below the poverty line. In response to these criticisms, Rouhani's government officials have often pointed to the impacts of the policies of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and the international sanctions against Iran, which were imposed due to the continuation of Iran's nuclear program. The pursuit of the controversial nuclear program in Iran eventually led to the Vienna nuclear agreement after prolonged negotiations, imposing a series of economic sanctions on Iran, which, although halted after the Vienna agreement, still afflict Iran's economy and have compelled Iranian officials to pursue a program known as the resistant economy. Minister of Interior: We did not face a shortage of ballots. In the inauguration ceremony of Hassan Rouhani, Abdulreza Rahmani Fazli, the Minister of Interior, first presented a report on the process of holding the twelfth presidential election in Iran. He announced that 'we did not face a shortage of ballots in any of the provinces and cities.' Rahmani Fazli also stated that in the May 29 election, the ballots had 10 'security indicators,' five of which were designed for the first time and did not exist in previous elections. Ebrahim Raisi, the main conservative candidate in the presidential election, has repeatedly accused Rouhani's government of committing 'engineered violations' in the elections. He stated that in areas where he received more votes, individuals 'had to wait hours outside the ballot boxes' and could not vote. Raisi's supporters have continuously accused the Ministry of Interior since Friday, May 29, of attempting to influence the elections through actions such as not sending ballots to boxes where this candidate had a higher chance of winning. However, Ministry officials announced that the necessary ballots were sent to areas facing shortages. Raisi's accusations and those of his supporters come at a time when Rouhani also implied on June 23 that 'four million votes were not cast,' indirectly accusing the Guardian Council of preventing his votes from reaching 28 million. The Iranian President stated that the Guardian Council only accepted 12 hours after the proposal of the election executive board that for the acceleration of the voting process, only the national ID numbers of voters should be registered. However, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council rejected these statements, stating that the Ministry of Interior had made this request on the evening of the election. The inauguration ceremony of Hassan Rouhani's presidency as the head of the Twelfth Government began at 10:30 AM on Thursday. According to Article 110 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 'the signature of the presidential decree after the people's election' is among 'the duties and powers of the leadership.' The four-year presidential term in Iran begins from the date of 'the ratification of the credentials' by the leader. The swearing-in ceremony for Rouhani's second presidential term is also scheduled to be held on Saturday afternoon, August 14. Since the revolution in Iran in 1979, 12 presidential elections have been held in the country, and seven individuals have been elected to this position: Abolhassan Banisadr, Mohammad Ali Rajai, Ali Khamenei, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rouhani.