Kayhan slams Rouhani over nuclear remarks, accuses him of past concessions

Iran’s conservative daily Kayhan sharply criticized former President Hassan Rouhani over his recent remarks that the 2005 election “changed the course of our nuclear path,” accusing his government of naivety and capitulation in earlier negotiations.

In that election Mohammad Khatami, the outgoing president, stepped down after two rounds and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the runoff race with Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The paper wrote that Rouhani’s team, during talks under President Mohammad Khatami, accepted a voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment based on European promises, only to be misled for over two years.

“Eventually, they were told by European officials that the best guarantee Iran could offer was a permanent suspension,” Kayhan said.

The editorial accused Rouhani and his allies of failing to recognize public dissatisfaction with what it called 16 years of “elitist governance and foreign policy humiliation.”

The paper argued that the deal reached under Rouhani administration stalled Iran’s nuclear industry without lifting economic sanctions, calling the outcome “a trap set by the West.”

In that election Mohammad Khatami, the outgoing president, stepped down after two rounds and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the runoff race with Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“Eventually, they were told by European officials that the best guarantee Iran could offer was a permanent suspension,” Kayhan said.

The editorial accused Rouhani and his allies of failing to recognize public dissatisfaction with what it called 16 years of “elitist governance and foreign policy humiliation.”

The paper argued that the deal reached under Rouhani administration stalled Iran’s nuclear industry without lifting economic sanctions, calling the outcome “a trap set by the West.”