TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's presidential candidates on Monday accused each other of lacking solutions to the country's problems ahead of the election. Friday's runoff election The purpose was to choose a successor to former President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last month.
In a debate that lasted more than two hours on public television, reformist candidate Massoud Pezeshkian accused his rival, hardline former nuclear negotiator Said Djalili, of lacking experience, saying: “In my opinion, which company is equipped to run the country?”
Jalili, known as a “living martyr” after losing a leg in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and known among Western diplomats for his fiery speeches and hardline stance, defended himself by highlighting his background and the several positions he has held, including as top nuclear negotiator.
Pezeshkian also asked Jalili what his plans were for a nuclear agreement, to which Jalili replied that he would work “based on strength, not weakness,” but did not provide details.
Jalili accused Pezeshkian of having no plan to run the country and said the country had been relegated to a “backward position” under the relatively moderate government of the previous president. President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021). President Rouhani signed a nuclear deal with countries around the world that limited Iran's uranium enrichment in exchange for lifting sanctions, but then in 2018 President Trump withdrew the US from the landmark agreement He suddenly reinstated tough sanctions against Iran.
Jalili said Iran would achieve 8 percent annual economic growth “with the support of the people,” but Pezeshkian ridiculed the promise, saying “if he fails to deliver, the authorities should have the right to execute him.”
If Iran wants its economy to succeed, it must have a “dynamic foreign policy,” Jalili said, adding that it should not limit itself to countries with which it has problems – the United States and the West. Instead, he said, “Iran should look at the other 200 countries in the world with which it needs to improve diplomatic relations.”
Pezeshkian said his foreign policy was based on “engagement with the world”, including participating in “sanctions relief negotiations”.
Both sides pledged to address the issues of the poor, workers, women and ethnic and religious minorities and vowed to provide better and faster internet — a plea to the younger generation who are disengaged from the internet. Friday's vote.
Pezeshkian and Jalili also said the low voter turnout in the first round – the lowest in the Islamic Republic's history – needed to be investigated.
“It's unacceptable that roughly 60 percent (of eligible voters) did not vote,” Pezeshkian said.
The candidates are scheduled to hold their second and final debate on Tuesday.
___
Follow AP's global election coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/
