President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday accused his hard-line critics of wanting to deprive Iranians of the basic joys of life and isolate the country, as an aide said he had decided to run for a second term, state media reported.
Iran will hold a presidential election on May 19, but Rouhani, a moderate who is eligible to seek a second four-year term, has stopped short of saying he would run to push ahead with reforms resisted by powerful hard-liners.
“Soon it’s the (Iranian) New Year, so let the people have some joy,” Rouhani, who has advocated greater social freedoms, said in a speech carried live on state television.
“In recent weeks, Mr. Rouhani has reached the conclusion to take part in the presidential election,” said vice president for parliamentary affairs Hosseinali Amiri, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.
In his speech, Rouhani said his government stood for opening Iran up to the outside world while his opponents sought confrontation and isolation.
“We are a government that says we should use foreign capital,” said Rouhani, who was elected in 2013.
Rouhani also hit out at hard-line critics who have accused officials of going on a “luxury” buying spree as Iran made deals with Airbus and US rival Boeing last year to purchase about 180 passenger planes.
“We say if our aircraft fleet is in need of new planes we should buy them. But some say it’s honorable to use old equipment,” he said.
The purchases were the first direct deals by Tehran to buy Western-built aircraft in nearly 40 years to revamp its aging fleet.

Source: Arab News