Rouhani fails to pacify MPs over economy

Appearing before parliament, president warns that ‘painting a bleak picture of people’s lives will lead to further darkness’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani failed to convince the country’s parliament yesterday that his plans will pull the country out of an economic nosedive worsened by America’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, further isolating his relatively moderate administration amid nationwide anger.

For only the second time in its history, the parliament ordered a sitting president to appear before it to answer questions. The last time it occurred was amid widespread discontent in 2011, during hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government.

While Rouhani warned that “painting a bleak picture of people’s lives will lead to further darkness,” lawmakers voted four separate times to say they were unconvinced of his answers about Iran’s recession, its cratering currency and unemployment. Those questions now could go to Iran’s judiciary for further review. “Certainly, we made and we have made mistakes,” Rouhani acknowledged.

‘A third way’

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and subsequent takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran, it has faced sanctions.

Under the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers — including the US under Barack Obama — Tehran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for lifting of sanctions. But in May this year, longtime deal sceptic President Donald Trump pulled America from the accord. That only fanned the flames burning through the economy from chronic unemployment, inflation and drastic drops in its currency.

Rouhani made a cryptic remark that Iran has a “third way” to deal with the ongoing crisis other than abandoning or staying in the nuclear deal, but he did not elaborate.