Saturday, June 15, 2013

‘Victory of Moderation over Extremism’ – Rouhani

U.S. Ready to Engage Iran ‘Directly’ 


Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani praised his election as a “victory of moderation over extremism,” and urged world powers to speak to his country with respect and acknowledge its rights in order to receive an appropriate response.

“This victory is a victory of wisdom, moderation, progress, awareness, commitment and religiosity over extremism & unethical behavior,” Rouhani said. “A new opportunity has been created by this great epic, and the nations who tout democracy and open dialogue should speak to the Iranian people with respect and recognize the rights of the Islamic Republic,” he added. Then they will “hear an appropriate respons.”

In major Western response, the United States said it is ready to engage Iran “directly” after Rouhani’s election.

Britain urged the president-elect to set the Islamic republic “on a different course for the future,”
said British foreign ministry spokesman. (Reuters, 15 June)

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France was “ready to work” with the new president.

Photo credit: Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani (AFP)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"the rights of the Islamic republic" translates into more of the same thing.

Anonymous said...

No change expected in Iran

The economy formed the focus of voters' concerns.

Rowhani is a cleric and part of the Islamic establishment and also boasts close ties with Iranian clergy the Supreme Leader and touts his relations with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all key issues, including the nuclear program.

Rowhani is a representative of Khamenei on the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security body, and was its secretary for 16 years until 2005.

He has said there will be "no surrender" to Western demands in talks on Iran's controversial nuclear program but has promised a more constructive, less adventurist approach.

Rowhani, 64, a former top nuclear negotiator who has championed more constructive engagement with world powers, won outright with 18.6 million votes, or 50.68 per cent of those cast.

Announcing Rowhani's win on Saturday, Interior Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said 36.7 million people, or 72.7 per cent of the electorate, had voted on Friday.

More than 50.5 million Iranians had been eligible to vote for a successor to Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who was constitutionally barred from standing again after serving two consecutive terms.

Rowhani's tally was enough to ensure there would be no run-off against the runner-up, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who was in distant second place with 6.07 million votes.

Current nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was third with 3.17 million.

He has also pledged that "discrimination against women will not be tolerated".

Married with four children, he holds a doctorate in law from Scotland's Glasgow Caledonian University, according to his official CV.

He was born in 1948 in the town of Sorkheh southeast of Tehran.




Anonymous said...

Rouhani is a liar.The doctorate is bogus because Scotlands Glasgow Caledonian University said no such person attended the course.To receive a doctorate you must attend the University.
If this man lies claiming and using the title of "Dr" then god knows what else he lies about.Typical IRI charlatan.

Anonymous said...

And how do you know this?

Anonymous said...

It translates into respect for Iran's right to have a nuclear power programme, as a member of the NPT.

Nader Uskowi said...

Rouhani’s election is a blow to the thinking and the ideology of the extreme right in Iran. They were almost certain that one of the people close to Mesbah and/or the supreme leader will win without any problem, especially after their ministry of intelligence had “engineered” Rafsanjani’s disqualification. But all they could show was 6% vote for Khamenei’s advisor Velayati and 11% for Mesbah’s man who was also very close to the supreme leader, Jalili. No wonder so much anger and/or denial are coming from their side!

Anonymous said...

Do you really believe that? The Mullah will still control everything, this new guy is just a prettier puppet.
The US will still block any negotiation, until Iran fully obeys like Saudi,Bahrain or Yemen.
Nothing will change.