Rouhani's Second Response to Protests: This Small Minority is Easily Gathered

Hassan Rouhani, in his second speech following the outbreak of protests in several cities in Iran, referred to a group of protesters in recent days, whom he said "insult the sanctities and values of the revolution and destroy public property," as "a small minority and group" that does not represent the people. He also stated that the Iranian nation "gathers them well." According to the state news agency IRNA, the Iranian president said on Monday, December 11, in a gathering of several members of parliament: "Our nation gathers a small minority and group that comes to do something, shout against the law and the people's wishes, insult the sanctities and values of the revolution, and destroy public property." He added, "Our great nation has seen many such incidents and has easily overcome them; they are nothing." Hassan Rouhani said that if "one day it is necessary" for the people to support the "system, you will see what a million-strong crowd will come to the streets." While emphasizing that the protesters "do not represent the people," he added, "But this does not mean that we should ignore the voice of criticism and protest and not listen; rather, we should listen and turn this into an opportunity. Let’s see what the issue is and what the solution is? Let’s seek that solution and resolve it." The Iranian president also said that the protesters' grievances are not limited to economic issues and that "one of the people's demands is to open the space more." However, he did not mention what his government's plan is for this opening and how it will be realized. On Sunday, December 10, he also stated that "criticism and protest in all matters is the right of the people," adding that "criticism is different from violence and the destruction of public property." In another part of his speech, the Iranian president attributed the recent protests to the "provocation" of foreign countries, including the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. He added, "Our success in the region was intolerable for them. Do you want them not to take revenge? Do you want a number of individuals not to be provoked? We should have prepared ourselves for this story. They explicitly said that we will bring this problem to Tehran." Rouhani's reference was to comments made by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia, who stated in May that Riyadh would not wait for war to enter Saudi Arabia and would work to bring the battle to Iran. Nevertheless, the Iranian president did not provide any evidence regarding his claims of these countries' involvement in the recent protests. Hassan Rouhani also stated that he does not intend to talk about the "roots" of the recent protests. At the same time, he referred to the government's handling of financial institutions as a "surgery" and said that there has been disagreement about its implementation. Rouhani emphasized that the problems of these institutions arose during the previous government, and his administration has spent 11 trillion tomans to resolve the issues of these institutions. Prior to the recent protests, numerous gatherings had been held in recent months by depositors of these institutions in Tehran and several other cities in Iran, where they strongly criticized the government's and the Central Bank's performance. Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran, also implicitly attributed the protests last Thursday in Mashhad to the government's opponents, stating that "the initiators of street movements will not be the ones to end them." In contrast to these remarks, some reformist figures, including Mahmoud Sadeghi, a member of parliament, emphasized that these protests are "a protest against the disorder and shortcomings in the overall governance and management system of the country over different periods" and that "instead of trying to extinguish and politicize it, we should listen to the people's voice and find solutions for it." In another part of his speech, the Iranian president defended the government's decision to raise energy prices, addressing the members of parliament and saying, "Did you not say in the law how energy carriers should be reformed? It is your own law." He asked the members of parliament to propose alternatives to raising energy prices if they have any suggestions for covering the costs of combating air pollution and creating jobs. Hassan Rouhani once again defended his government's economic policies and their results, stating, "Our conditions are better than the average conditions in the world. Why shouldn’t we say that our economic situation is better than the average economic situation in the world?" His remarks came after some members of parliament announced in recent days that, contrary to the government's bill, items such as exit fees and energy prices would not be increased. In this regard, Ali Asghar Yousefnejad, the spokesman for the Joint Commission of Parliament, stated on Monday that according to the latest resolution of this commission, it was decided that the fees for water, electricity, and gas would not be increased in 2018. The budget bill for 2018, which was recently submitted by Rouhani's government to parliament, has faced numerous criticisms. Critics have pointed to the increase in energy prices among their concerns. Some officials of the Islamic Republic have attributed the recent protests to economic issues and matters such as price increases. Meanwhile, protesters in their gatherings have chanted political slogans against the Supreme Leader and Hassan Rouhani while protesting against inflation and rising prices.