- ‘Our nation’s message in the election was clear: Iran chose the path of interaction with the world, away from violence, extremism’
- US Secretary of State Tillerson says he hoped Rouhani would use his second term to end Tehran’s ballistic missile programme, network of terrorism
President Hassan Rouhani pledged on Saturday to open Iran to the world and deliver freedoms its people have yearned for, throwing down a defiant challenge to his hardline opponents after securing a decisive re-election for a second term.
Rouhani, long known as a cautious and mild-mannered establishment insider, reinvented himself as a bold champion of reform during the election campaign, which culminated on Friday in victory with more than 57 per cent of the vote. His main challenger, hardline judge Ebrahim Raisi, received 38 per cent.
In his first televised speech after the result, Rouhani appeared to openly defy conservative judges by praising the spiritual leader of the reform camp, former President Mohammad Khatami. A court has banned quoting or naming Khatami on air.
“Our nation’s message in the election was clear: Iran’s nation chose the path of interaction with the world, away from violence and extremism,” Rouhani said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he hoped Rouhani would use his second term to end Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and what he called its network of terrorism.
Although the powers of the elected president are limited by those of unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who outranks him, the scale of Rouhani’s victory gives the pro-reform camp its strongest mandate in at least 12 years to seek the sort of change that hardliners have thwarted for decades.
Rouhani’s opponent Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, had united the conservative faction and had been tipped as a potential successor to the 77-year-old supreme leader. His defeat leaves the conservatives without an obvious flag bearer.
The re-election is likely to safeguard the nuclear agreement Rouhani’s government reached with global powers in 2015, under which most international sanctions have been lifted in return for Iran curbing its nuclear program.
And it delivers a setback to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the powerful security force which controls a vast industrial empire in Iran. They had thrown their support behind Raisi to safeguard their interests.
CHEERING AND DANCING:
Thousands of people gathered in central Tehran to celebrate Rouhani’s victory. Videos on social media showed young people clapping and chanting “We love you Hassan Rouhani, we support you.”
Some youngsters wore wristbands in violet, the color of Rouhani’s campaign. Others wore green, representing the reformist movement crushed by security forces after a 2009 election, whose leaders have been under house arrest since 2011.
The re-elected president will also have to navigate a tricky relationship with Washington, which appears at best ambivalent about the nuclear accord agreed by former US President Barack Obama. Trump has repeatedly described it as “one of the worst deals ever signed”, although his administration re-authorised waivers from sanctions this week.
Speaking at a joint news conference with his US counterpart in Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Iran’s presidential election was an internal matter. “We want to see deeds, not words” from Iran, he added.
Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, an ally of Saudi Arabia, congratulated Rouhani on his re-election.
Among the congratulatory messages sent to Rouhani by world leaders, Iran’s battlefield ally Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad looked forward to cooperating “to strengthen the security and stability of both countries, the region and the world”.
PM NAWAZ FELICITATES ROUHANI ON HIS RE-ELECTION:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also congratulated Rouhani on his re-election for the second term.
The prime minister, in a message of felicitation to the Iranian president, said the Iranian people had chosen President Rouhani to guide the country with his visionary and astute leadership, through which Iran had made significant achievements in all the national and international domains.
The relations between the two nations were rooted in shared bonds of history, culture, traditions and faith, he said, according to a press release issued by the PM Office media on Saturday.
The prime minister reiterated his desire to working together with the Iranian president on continued endeavours to strengthen cooperation between Pakistan and Iran in diverse fields, forging a strong economic partnership and making earnest efforts towards solidarity, peace and progress in the region.