Severe Criticism from Hardline Newspapers on Hassan Rouhani's Speech

On Tuesday, January 6, the hardline newspapers Kayhan and Resalat severely criticized the statements made by President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday regarding holding a referendum on important issues and the idea that 'our ideals are not connected to centrifuges.' The Kayhan newspaper accused Rouhani of 'shifting responsibility, creating distractions, psychological operations, and stirring up controversy,' comparing his words to 'loading bullets and magazines for the enemy's weapon.' The Resalat newspaper referred to Rouhani's statement that 'our ideals are not connected to centrifuges' as a 'fallacy,' writing that Western countries have 'forced' Iran to 'destroy' its 20% uranium reserves. On Sunday, January 14, Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, called for a referendum among the people on 'important economic, social, political, and cultural issues,' referencing the country's constitution. He also stated that 'the economy in the country does not progress with monopoly' and reiterated that 'if an issue is monopolized by a specific group, corruption arises, even if it is Salman and Abu Dharr.' Although Rouhani did not mention a specific entity, the editorial on Tuesday in Kayhan, written by 'Mohammad Imani,' interpreted the Iranian President's words as an 'attack on the Parliament, the state media, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.' The editorial writer of Kayhan accused Rouhani of 'shifting responsibility, creating distractions, psychological operations, and stirring up controversy,' calling his remarks 'concerning.' The editorial concluded: 'If a mountain of slogans and economic conferences gives birth to a mouse of a referendum or suggests a confrontation between principles and national interests, then we must say that we are giving a huge subsidy from the national interests to America and the West to advance their project; something akin to loading bullets and magazines for the enemy's weapon!' Hussein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Kayhan, also reacted on Monday to Rouhani's proposal for a referendum, stating that 'the legal scholar president does not know the difference between a legislative referendum and a constitutional referendum.' According to Shariatmadari, a legislative referendum must be approved by two-thirds of the total members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and a constitutional referendum is subject to the command of the Supreme Leader. In his statements on Sunday, Rouhani also discussed Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group, saying: 'Our ideals are not connected to centrifuges, but to our hearts and will; if we show more transparency and stop the enrichment we do not need, does that mean our ideals are gone?' Mohammad Kazem Anbarlooee, the editor-in-chief of Resalat, called Rouhani's statements a 'fallacy,' adding: 'It is as if it were said to the leaders of the nationalization movement of the oil industry that all this shouting and conflict with British and American imperialism is not right; our ideals are not connected to a few insignificant barrels of oil!' Anbarlooee continued in his editorial on Tuesday: 'They forced us to destroy the 20% reserves. While these reserves could have been sold, how does destroying them align with political and economic rationality aimed at the independence of the country?' Based on the six-month Geneva agreement reached on November 24, 2013, Iran agreed to dilute its 20% enriched uranium reserves or convert them into fuel rods. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the head of the Basij Organization, also reacted on Tuesday to Rouhani's statements, saying: 'Our ideals are not centrifuges, but our ideals are the destruction of the palaces of tyrants and the White House in America and the annihilation of Zionism.' He emphasized: 'Anyone who does not believe in these ideals and wants to erase them in the name of rationality should sincerely say that they have never been revolutionary and have inserted themselves into the ranks of the revolution.' The issue of the number of centrifuges is one of the major points of contention in the nuclear negotiations between the powers and Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has previously stated that Iran needs 190,000 'SWU' for enrichment. According to Associated Press, diplomats say that the U.S. is demanding that the number of centrifuges used by Iran be reduced by at least half to 4,500 devices, while Iran is only willing to agree to a 20% reduction to 8,000 machines.