Tehran, Iran, May 20
By Mehdi Sepahvand –- Trend:
The absolute majority with which Iranians voted for Hassan Rouhani as next president means they voted for détente with the region and world, said senior cleric, author, and former MP Hossein Ansari Rad.
“This means a new change has taken place in Iran, a deep-rooted change which is here to stay,” Rad told Trend May 20.
The moderate Rouhani was elected as president for a second term in Iran May 19. Some 57 percent of Iranian voters backed the incumbent president with over 23 million votes.
The 68 year-old president improved the country’s economic situation through opening Iran to the world. He has also given Iranians greater social freedom.
“Rouhani’s election was the choice of those who purely look for Iran’s national interests, peace with the world, enactment of the law, justice, and revocation of corruption,” Rad stated.
Rouhani was first elected president in 2013, taking office at a time when Iran was in historically tense relations with almost the whole world.
He undertook the task of brining the world’s concerns with Tehran’s nuclear program to ease with a landmark deal that took him 2.5 years to reach.
Rouhani also put Iran’s economy back on track by reducing inflation from beyond 40 to about 6 percent, helping Iran’s oil quota in international markets, and improving transparency.