Rouhani Meter’s assessment of President Rouhani’s press conference
Fulfilling promises was the main theme of President Hassan Rouhani’s Annual Press Conference, just ahead of the second anniversary of the elections which brought him into presidency. Similar to the US President’s State of the Union speech, the Iranian President’s speech at the Annual Press Conference offers a chance for the administration to take the pulse on its own progress and to defend their performance to the Iranian public.
This year, President Rouhani’s speech struck a more modest tone, making sure to explain to the Iranian public how his administration has carried out steps to fulfill the promises he made, but he was less definitive on whether those promises would be fulfilled. Noting that two years ago, his administration inherited a country whose domestic institutions and foreign relations had been deeply damaged, President Rouhani contended that during his term, his administration successfully pulled the country back towards more stability. The President also took care to challenge all branches and factions within the government to work and to cooperate with his administration, in order to fulfill the promises made during the 2013 elections.
Foreign Policy
On the nuclear negotiations, President Rouhani focused on tempering expectations of the agreement, particularly about the speed of its implementation and on the degree of sanctions relief. His tone was not as decisive as last year, for instance when he spoke on the certainty of an agreement during his interview at the New America Foundation. Instead, he explained that in the event that negotiations continued past the due date of June 30th, that the Iranian public needed to understand that western negotiators were bargaining over a framework that had been previously accepted. He also noted that there would be several months between when an agreement is reached and when the deal comes into effect. This is different from previous statements when the Iranian negotiating team had spoken of a two-month process. Therefore, delays in results were laid at the feet of the P5+1 members.
As evidence that his administration has taken steps towards fulfilling the promise of improving constructive interactions with the international community, he pointed to the numerous visits of foreign political and financial officials, including the visit of business leaders. When speaking about regional relations, President Rouhani said that Iran’s relationship between “one or two neighbours” still remain the same, without explicitly naming Saudi Arabia.
In his final assessment of Foreign policies, Rouhani asked the Iranian public to measure his administration’s achievements in comparison to two years ago, when former President Ahmadinejad’s presidency kept Iran in isolation from the international community. Emphasizing that the greatest barriers towards achieving the promises of improving foreign relations and sanctions relief are internal and due to the lack of cooperation between factions within government, Rouhani called on the government to “work together in unison”.
Economic Policies
On the national economy, perhaps even more closely watched by the Iranian public than the Nuclear negotiations, Rouhani listed what he viewed to be his administration’s most significant achievements. Starting off, once again, by reminding the public of how far the national economy has come compared to two years prior, successes he pointed included: the reduction of the inflation rate from 40% to 15%; improving Iran’s business and employment opportunities as evinced by the World Bank’s ranking of Iran at 130, up from 152nd place; the positive growth in the industrial, mining and agricultural sectors, including the recent completion and opening of 8000 factories and workshops. Finally, Rouhani was optimistic that the economic recession package, a series of measures to stem the tide of recession, which he proposed to Majlis (the Parliament), would be passed.
Before turning to discuss barriers and challenges to achieving certain promises the administration has made, Rouhani also highlighted his administration’s success in delivering health care insurance to 9 million people, in addition to dramatically reducing the cost of hospitalization.
He then shifted the discussion on the country’s overall prosperity to addressing the “behaviour of extremist groups in the political and social spheres” whose activities pose serious barriers to attracting foreign investment into Iran. By positioning the economy and national employment numbers together with the behaviour of “extremist groups”, Rouhani argued that the division between these ‘extremist groups’ were impeding not only foreign investment and further job creation, but also unity regarding the nuclear agreement.
Finally, Rouhani mentioned the challenges in dealing with the damage to the economy done by the previous administration, namely, privatization and the improper transfer of state industries. When asked about the current negative trend in the stock market, Rouhani passed on answering.
Domestic and Cultural Policies
In answering questions from the press on his administration’s record on domestic and cultural policies, Rouhani once again focused on the steps he has taken towards fulfilling certain promises, while acknowledging that there are still many barriers, some of which are exacerbated by internal government divisions.
One of the first questions asked by the press was related to the recent series of concert cancellations. In response, Rouhani confirmed that he did not condone the behaviour of the police force or the disruptive groups, and maintained that no one was above the rule of law or can act without valid reasons, not even the judiciary. However, no promises were made to modify or change the decisions made to cancel the concerts and he moved on to discuss his achievement in reopening the House of Cinema (Iran’s largest professional organization for filmmakers), pointing out that artists themselves were now involved in making important decisions.
Another reporter asked the President whether he believed that the election promise of supporting more politically open climate in universities had been achieved. Rouhani did not directly answer, instead he drew attention to the December 7th Student Day ceremonies, which he believed were positive and indicative of an improved atmosphere. He also highlighted the fact that the “Bureau of Political Parties” has resumed activities and mentioned these as signs of improvement.
A reporter from IRNA questioned Rouhani about his government’s strategy for ensuring a healthy election, in light of recent events where groups have disrupted speeches given by the President and Hassan Khomeini (Ayatollah Khomeini’s grandson), as well as the lack of cooperation from “75% of the government”.
While the press did not ask Rouhani about the house arrests of the leaders of the Green Movement, he did answer a question regarding the current media ban on former President Mohammad Khatami. In his response though, Rouhani did not mention Khatami in name, but he insisted that the “event was no way in related to the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)”. According to the Constitution, while the President officially presides over of the SNSC, all decisions of the Council must be confirmed by the Supreme Leader.
He further stated that any other claim to the contrary would be “an utter lie and is worthy of punishment of those who are spreading it”. It should be noted that shortly after the Judiciary declared a media ban on Khatami, the President’s spokesman claimed to be unaware of the SNSC’s decision. However, Khatami’s followers have been demanding that Rouhani take a clear position on the ban, after having provided seminal support to his successful presidential bid.
Before concluding the press conference, the President directly addressed his critics by reminding them that solving the country’s problems would take more time and that undergoing these changes would be a process. Finally, he asserted that the support of the Iranian public are critical factors to helping the government succeed, and he asked all Iranians to maintain their faith in the government. The President committed himself to holding another press conference on the second anniversary of his administration’s inauguration in early August, where he would provide a more detailed account of his administration’s performance and whether they have fulfilled their promises.
