A Difficult Year for Iran

2019 would be a very difficult and of course crucial year for the president Hassan Rouhani. The New Year in Iran is celebrated on March 21 with the onset of spring from ancient and pre-Islamic time. Many Christians are now living in Iran and due to the respect Muslims have for Christ, Christmas and New Year are celebrated in Iran. So every year, the President of Iran congratulates the Christian nations on the start of the New Year. In his congratulatory message this year, Hassan Rouhani wished that the world would see the spread of peace, justice and the eradication of any intolerance and discrimination for the people in the New Year.
However, in the second half of 2018, President Trump pulled out the United States from the international agreement reached between Iran and the P5 + 1 Countries on a nuclear case (JCPOA(. The US government also imposed new sanctions against Iran previous fall. These events made the situation very difficult for president Rouhani. After the special era of Ahmadinejad’s presidency in Iran, he was elected by the people of Iran as the new president with the slogan “Contact with the West”. The start of his administration, which coincided with the Obama’s administration in the United States, led to long-lasting talks between Iran and the U K, Germany, France, Russia, China and the U S. Negotiations and finally an international agreement. As a result of that agreement, the parties assumed obligations with understanding.
At the same time, radical political groups inside Iran, which also have so much influence and authority in the sovereignty, strongly criticized the approach of the Rouhani government and believed in confrontation with the West. However, Hassan Rouhani was advancing with two backings: The desire of the Iranian people who voted for him and they were against militant policies and the support of major countries in the world.
Now, with this situation, the arena has been confined for the president of Iran. First, the behavior of President Tramp that made the efforts of other countries ineffective and consequently difficult economic conditions for Iranians. Consequently, domestic critics recall that perusing this policy has led to unfavorable situation in both international diplomacy and economic situation. These criticisms are mostly aimed to influence the peoples` vote in the upcoming Iranian presidential elections. Those people who voted for Hassan Rouhani because he was the follower of the same policy of conversations with the civilizations proposed by President Khatami.

By Alireza Bahrami, editor of ISNA