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Iran’s Army Criticizes Rouhani over ‘Ballistic’ Comments | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A picture released on March 8, 2016 by Sepah News, the public relations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, shows a member of the Guards next to a missile launcher in an underground tunnel/AFP


Tehran – Iranian armed forces spokesman General Masoud Jazayeri criticized on Saturday President Hassan Rouhani for speaking against the country’s ballistic program during the second television presidential debate held in Iran last Friday.

Without naming him, General Jazayeri said: “We again stress and recommend the presidential candidates to avoid controversial entries into important and sensitive military and defense issues of the country and giving false information to people,” according to the website of state broadcaster IRIB.

Agence France Press also quoted Jazayeri as saying: “The existence of underground missile sites are an important deterrent factor against the sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the nation.”

During the debate held with the five other presidential candidates, and in a rare step criticizing the “Revolutionary Guards,” Rouhani said he was sorry that “they showed pictures of underground ballistic missile cites and they wrote on them anti-Israel slogans while the JCPOA nuclear deal had entered into effect in January 2016.”

Rouhani’s comments come ahead of the May 19 presidential election in Iran.

“Tell people clearly, what will you do regarding (the nuclear deal)? You were all against it,” Rouhani said during the televised debate.

“When US President Donald Trump took office you were celebrating because he said he would tear up the deal. Today people should know whether sanctions and confrontation are coming back or not,” he added.