Rouhani Advisor Says Pressure Not To Impede Reelection

Administration spokesman Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht recently spoke out about think tanks that are working against the cabinet, trying to create crises for the executive arm of the government. The claim rings a bell for Rouhani’s reformist advocates who experienced a similar scenario when they held office more than a decade ago.

When asked about the think tanks, Torkan says it is no news. “To put it explicitly, such think tanks are nothing new as the principlists have relentlessly made trouble for the administration since the defeat they were handed in 2013,” he told Entekhab. As usual, the Ahmadinejad clan is to blame: “The measures have no reason except for that all the politically bankrupts were allies to the ninth and tenth administrations. The scandals and anomalies it spurred in Iran’s economy or the international scene caused a plethora of problems in every area”.

Torkan goes further in identifying hardliner principlists as the former accomplices of Ahmadinejad. “The legacy of the previous administration does not belong to Ahmadinejad but has lots of accomplices who are now quite scared because the public was told about them very cautiously to avoid blackwashing, even though the rest should be disclosed piecemeal. Thus, the reason for their panic is that all these individuals share the same crimes. One should not think that Ahmadinejad could bring all these losses for the country, singlehandedly. They are all together. Thus, all of them seek to do something in order to find themselves new opportunities,” he said.

But will they succeed? Torkan says no. “The Iranian people figured out, very well, what the story was. They have no doubts what was achieved in the nuclear agreement was desirable and what everyone wanted. Nobody wants to return to the sanctions era. Nobody wants to see powers opposing the Islamic Republic to employ all their forces against Iran while we provide for them to damage the Republic through our own awkward imprudence. This is what sadly happened in that period,” he reiterated confidently.

“What the people observed was a very irritatingly imprudent stream imposed on them which ended up with the unfair sanctions collapsing on their heads. The architecture of sanctions and the resolutions passed in the UN Security Council that were notified and implemented against us were practically nullified under this administration and became history. It was the first time in the history of the United Nations that a country under Chapter VII of the UN Charter freed itself from it. This is the greatest achievement of the administration and, in my opinion, its different aspects will remain unrecognized for a long time to come. It should still be emphasized to shed light on what imprudence pushed us into such a trap and how we proudly gained our nuclear rights,” the President’s senior advisor said.

Then, Torkan goes on to praise Rouhani’s capability to accept criticism. Could President Rouhani’s patience lead to his failure in reelection? Torkan finds it very unlikely, too. “The people are more understanding than to let this happen. In the parliamentary election, a group spent huge money to impress certain individuals, but as you saw, people did what they found right in the end. Elections are not limited to spending money. We should see where the future of the country will go and speak to people accordingly. It is a mistake the principlists always make,” he added.

He further draws a line between Rouhani and his colleagues, saying people consider individuals in their decision to vote. “I can say that criticism against Mr. Rouhani’s colleagues are legitimate but the President himself cannot be blamed for essential problems. People have voted for Mr. Rouhani and will vote for him again, regardless of what means or campaigning policies Ahmadinejad or any other rival uses against him,” Entekhab quoted Torkan as saying.

Whether this patience and persistence in exposing the preceding administration’s imprudence and corruption are too much of a good thing or capable of doing the trick in the next presidential race is a question of time. However, the administration should keep in mind and work harder to prevent pressures and sabotage from lowering the bar of hope in the hearts of people.