Rouhani: There are issues and people have not achieved all their demands

Hassan Rouhani, in his first live television interview following the recent nationwide protests, acknowledged that there are economic, social, and cultural challenges and that people have not achieved all their wishes, but he promised that his government would take action to resolve the problems. The Iranian president stated in a television program broadcast on the state television network on Monday evening, February 21, that he wants to assure the people that despite the challenges in the country's economic, social, and cultural conditions, and although people have not reached all their dreams and demands, the government will be able to resolve issues with the cooperation of other branches and under the guidance of the Supreme Leader. Regarding the recent protests, Rouhani said, "We do not want insecurity in the country; protest and criticism are not a problem. Even if people come to the streets and hold demonstrations within the framework of the law, it is not a problem, but what worries people is insecurity and unnecessary tensions in society. We wish to have a safe and calm country in economics, society, culture, and other issues, and thankfully, this is the case." He added that there may be minor fluctuations in some issues that will eventually resolve. He mentioned that sometimes flu may cause a problem in the poultry sector, and one day another issue may arise and create fluctuations, but our goal is more peace, security, and freedom for the people, which is why we say that the environment should be increasingly conducive for people to have more creativity. Rouhani did not refer to the demands and requests of the protesters in this interview. Tehran and over 100 cities in Iran witnessed protests against the economic situation and government policies for a week in early December of this year. During these widespread protests, harsh slogans were directed against the leaders and domestic and regional policies of the Islamic Republic. Rouhani also did not mention the casualties or detainees from the recent protests in this interview. More than 3,700 people were arrested during these protests, and the spokesperson for the judiciary confirmed the deaths of at least 25 individuals. Following reports regarding the deaths of several prisoners during the recent protests, a number of parliament representatives and the special assistant to the president for citizen rights called for visits to detention centers. In addition to the request to visit detention centers, over 40 parliament representatives sent a letter to Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, requesting the formation of an independent group to investigate the causes of death of some detainees from the recent protests in prisons. The committee following up on the arrests from the recent gatherings and demonstrations reported severe beatings of Sina Ghanbari and bruising on his body, as well as "severe beatings" of several other detainees from the recent protests and the distribution of "methadone" pills among prisoners by the officials of Evin prison. It is reported that the body of Sina Ghanbari was found on the morning of January 5, while "a garbage bag was tied around his neck, in the quarantine bathroom of Evin prison by prisoners who were responsible for cleaning." Regarding the filtering of social networks, Rouhani responded to the host's question about the filtering of networks like Instagram and Telegram during the recent protests, saying, "If this space was limited for a few days, some thought it was an excuse to close this space forever, but that is not the case." Following the expansion of protests in Iranian cities, social networks like Instagram and Telegram were filtered, but after a while, these two networks were unblocked again. Rouhani continued, "We have tried our best in the executive apparatus to make this space more open for the people. Of course, some of these spaces were closed before the eleventh government, and the key of the eleventh government could not open it." The Iranian president said, "We hope the key of the twelfth government can do this. Of course, you know what pains this government has gone through to maintain this space for the people." Since Hassan Rouhani took office, there has always been a disagreement between his government and the judiciary regarding the filtering of these networks. After the recent protests, political factions, military and security officials, Friday prayer leaders, and government officials have taken various positions in defense of the limitation or lifting of restrictions on social networks. However, Rouhani had previously criticized groups and officials who called for permanent filtering of social networks. The blocking of Telegram in Iran led to protests from many human rights organizations, and the U.S. government, in new sanctions against several Iranian individuals and entities, sanctioned the Supreme Council of Cyberspace of Iran, the Cyber Defense Center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and several other entities for their role in restricting Iranian users' access to the internet and international media. In another part of his remarks regarding the problems of financial and credit institutions, Rouhani said, "Millions of families were affected; it was not just one or two people; more than 24 million families are involved in this issue." He continued, "Now more than 11 trillion tomans have been deposited by the Central Bank to resolve the issues of the 98 percent we mentioned. It is possible that those 98 percent are not 100 percent satisfied; I do not care. But according to the criteria that have been set, it was supposed that these 98 percent would be settled, meaning they would receive their principal money based on a balanced profit. Fair profit should also be calculated." The problems of depositors of financial institutions had led them to hold protest gatherings. At the beginning of the eleventh government, it was said that 15 to 20 percent of the total liquidity in Iran was circulating in interest-free loan funds, financial institutions, and unauthorized credit cooperatives. The critical reactions to Rouhani's interview have emerged both inside and outside Iran. Sadegh Ziba Kalam wrote on his Twitter account: "I wish he could understand that when instead of addressing serious and real problems of society, he engages in artificial, hollow, and superficial questions and answers, he is actually insulting the intelligence of the people." Akbar Ganji also wrote: "Rouhani should not have given an interview; it would have been heavier. It seems that nothing has happened in the country? It seems he has accepted the claims of Khamenei and the principlists that the economy is the root of all issues and problems in the country. It seems this Q&A had, for example, a clarifying role. Why did he even give the interview?"