Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1
By Farhad Daneshvar - Trend:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has expressed hope that the country's newly elected parliament will be in coordination with the government to fulfil the president's electoral promises.
Addressing a number of workers of the MAPNA industrial group on Labor Day, President Rouhani criticized his opponents who opposed the last year's nuclear deal with the world powers describing them as "pessimists", ILNA news agency reported May 1.
"On the implementation day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA, aka nuclear deal], the pessimists said the Westerners will not fulfil their commitments regarding the JCPOA and the government will not succeed in implementing the deal," Rouhani stated.
Rouhani further criticized his opponents for downplaying the government's achievements on the nuclear deal and said the "pessimists" described the increase in Iran's oil exports after the removal of sanctions as an unimportant change.
The president also said the "pessimists" even downplayed the removal of banking sanctions following the nuclear deal.
He further stated the need for luring foreign investments and said that advancing in the industry without investments is impossible.
While Rouhani's opponents gained about 29 percent, the pro-Rouhani candidates secured about 46 percent in the 290-seat parliament following the two rounds of elections.
The run-off elections to fill 68 seats in the 290-seat parliament were held Apr. 29.
Iran held the 10th parliamentary elections on Feb. 26 with an overall turnout of 62 percent nationwide.
The new parliament is scheduled to begin its session on May 27.