Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian regime’s president, was Iran’s first cleric to give Ruhollah Khomeini the ‘sacred term of Imam’ and has wholeheartedly defended the regime against ‘anti-revolutionary political groups’ such as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the Kayhan daily said.
The paper added: “During the 1999 sedition (student uprising bloodily suppressed by the regime), while many officials were unwilling to appear in the emotional rally of July 14, 1999, he came to the stage and offered heated words, including humiliating them (the students who had risen in protest) by saying, ‘calling them over throwers renders them more lowly and despicable’.”
According to the report Rouhani called the protesting students as rioters and said: “Where in the world are rioters tolerated?”
“It was Mr Rouhani who in the emotional gathering of Basij students stood tall in support of this motto and said, ‘The motto of Death to America creates unity in our country’,” the article quoted a video on his biography.
The Los Angeles Times also wrote on May 7: “Rouhani boasted in his autobiography that he was among the first post-revolutionary Iranian officials to push for the imposition of an Islamic dress code for women.
“Hassan Rouhani is often mischaracterized in the West as a moderate and force for change. While stylistically he may appear reasonable and forthcoming, he’s a consummate insider who has been at the pinnacle of power most of his life, supporting extremist fundamentalist policies.
For 17 years Rouhani has been a member of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the country’s top decision-making panel that oversees defense and national security issues.
Rouhani was appointed the head of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team on October 6, 2003, several weeks after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report, stating Iran was concealing nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities.
Several months after stepping down as Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Rouhani disclosed in a speech how he had duped the west during nuclear negotiations, keeping Iran’s nuclear program on track while avoiding referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.
