A prominent reformist figure defended the performance of President Hassan Rouhani who is facing a strong conservative challenge against his bid for a second term, noting that Rouhani’s moderate approach banished the looming specter of war.
“After the government of prudence and hope assumed office, the shadows of war and disintegration faded away,” Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, who is also a former parliamentarian, was quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday, referring to Rouhani’s government.
Rouhani championed a deal with P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) to settle a 12-year dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was concluded in July 2015 and took effect six months later to roll back Tehran’s nuclear program in return for the removal of nuclear sanctions.
International experts have lauded the international agreement as a triumph of diplomacy that averted an impending war.
Iran has always denied allegations that its nuclear program was meant to develop a nuclear warhead.
Rouhani’s conservative rivals in the May 19 vote have railed against the deal, claiming that it has failed to achieve its intended objectives, including jumpstarting the hobbled domestic economy.
They have also bashed the action plan for allegedly making too many concessions to the western side.
Ebrahim Raeisi, the custodian of the holy shrine of Imam Reza [PBUH] and former prosecutor general, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and former culture minister, Mostafa Mirsalim, represent the conservative camp in the election.
