TEHRAN (Iran News) – President Hassan Rouhani defended his government’s record of activities in the last cabinet meeting, saying that national unity should be the priority for all.
Rouhani said on Sunday at the last meeting of the 12th cabinet: “A very lofty goal that we must all pursue is national unity.”
Iran’s 7th president said: “In the past, we talked to the people and announced that nothing was against reality and we told the people what was real.”
“Of course, we did not tell people part of the truth, and I do not think we could tell them because I did not find it useful,” added Rouhani.
He went on to highlight: “A very lofty goal that we must all pursue is national unity.”
“We tolerated many issues in order to maintain national cohesion and national unity in our country,” stressed the president.
Rouhani called his first term a period of interaction with the world when his government was quite confident that they were the opponent of the great powers in the negotiations.
The president added: “We did not negotiate to win only in politics. Of course, we also won in politics. We saw its effects in the economy. Of course, this was our wish.”
Rouhani also stressed the fact that his government has made efforts for reducing the effects of U.S. sanctions.
He noted that the 12th administration has tried to lessen the negative consequences of the economic war imposed on Iran by the United States since 2018, and that the country has suffered from high inflation and difficulties in trade exchanges with the world.
Principally, when a country enters a war, it leaves behind development and attaches importance to people’s normal life, the President said, adding that the Iranian people have the right not to be satisfied because of the hardships in terms of livelihood.
The country has faced difficulties in exporting oil and even in banking transactions, he noted.
The condition is completely clear, but unfortunately some do not find out the difference between war and peace; however, Iran did not initiate the war, he emphasized, adding that the people are well-aware that the situation of the administration was not the same during the first four years and the second term, because the country was in a better situation in terms of domestic and international conditions in the first tenure of the administration.
The government has tried to be honest with the Iranian people, but it told parts of the facts on the ground, because it was afraid that the other parts could harm national unity, he argued.
Iranian diplomats are very qualified, so the administration had been confident that they could guarantee the country’s national interests and they succeeded in negotiations, Rouhani added.
