Iranian President Rouhani Warns of Elections’ Consequences

The Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, warned of suspicions around the coming elections. He alluded that the authority might intervene in determining the results of the parliamentary ballot scheduled in few week, and questioning the public on the interaction with the elections, given the exclusion of a large number of candidates and the dubiety of Iran’s civil society organizations on conducting “free elections”.

“There should be no doubts in anyone’s mind about these elections, and we must all work actively towards that,” he said in an interview aired live on state television on Tuesday.

Iranian President expressed his position regarding the exclusion of candidates in the parliamentary elections, calling other government bodies to respect the law. His warning coincided with the prevailing pessimism after the major intervention of the Guardian Council of the Constitution in the elections. The council is responsible for supervising the elections and the eligibility of the candidates.

“We will certainly turn a golden and brilliant page of the Iranian history book on February 26, because Iran’s political establishment is experiencing for the first time holding two simultaneous elections of Majlis and the Elites Council of Leadership. So the elections are very important for both, the government and the people,” he added. “I’ve taken the oath to defend the constitution and will do all in my power to ensure a fair and free election.”

In a common matter, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stated that the nuclear deal, which was signed between USA and the other major powers with Iran, will not affect the Ministry of Defense, and it will not limit its abilities. He added that US Ministry of Defense will continue combatting Iranian malignant influence against US allies in the region.

According to Carter, there are five main challenges for the US to focus on which are Russia, Iran, China, North Korea and ISIS.