Iran’s Rouhani slams presidential hopefuls for ‘lies’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday slammed presidential candidates over accusations leveled against his government for the current economic woes in the country.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Rouhani termed criticism of his economic policies by presidential debates as "distortion of facts".

Rouhani said elections are important but "ethics are more important than elections". He said if candidates raise questions over the performance of successive governments since the 1979 revolution, then the objective of the revolution is itself defeated.

Pertinently, the two presidential debates so far have seen candidates launching blistering attacks at Rouhani's 8-year government, blaming him for the myriad economic woes facing the country.

The five conservative candidates, in particular, have subjected the Rouhani administration to intense criticism, blaming it for rising inflation, loss in currency value, damaged livelihood of people, dearth of jobs and staggering housing prices.

In Tuesday's debate, one candidate termed the last eight years as the "hardest time of lives," for people in Iran, saying the pressure on their livelihood wasn't so high even during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Rouhani, in response, said the candidates are "oppressing" the people with such charges, saying agriculture, industry, infrastructure and cyberspace were "in the hands of people".

"When you say nothing has been done (in last 8 years), it means the nation has not done anything. Why do you insult the nation?" Rouhani said, going on to point to some petrochemical, roads and railways projects carried out by his administration.

In a lighter vein, the reformist president said the judiciary, legislature, and armed forces have been "flawless", and only the executive branch has been flawed during this time.

"Well, thank God, it is good that at least in this election, we realized that everywhere in the country is very good, very healthy, perfect and flawless," Rouhani said. "The only problem is the government, and God willing, that will also change in this election."

Rouhani also took a dig at candidates who have made women's political representation, minority rights and social media filtering part of their agendas. "Praise be to God, what good things are we seeing these days," he remarked.

Rouhani said the incumbent administration had faced an "economic war", referring to sanctions re-imposed by the US in 2018, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. He said his government must be allowed to respond to "lies and distortions" of candidates, while adding that history will record it.

Iran goes to polls on June 18, with five conservative and two reformist candidates vying for the top executive post.

Some reports suggest the voter turnout could be affected by the disqualification of key reformist candidates, but the state media in an opinion poll published on Tuesday said the turnout is expected to be above 50 percent.

The survey also put judiciary chief and top conservative candidate Ebrahim Raeisi ahead of other hopefuls in the race.