Hugo Gazette,  24 May, 2017— Iranian president calls US relations ‘a curvy road’. But he added: “Telling (Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi) that he is doing a “fantastic” job and saying that Saudi Arabia is a “magnificent kingdom”, while forgetting that in Iran people are making the effort to get out and vote, is very risky”. He criticized his main rival, Ebrahim Raisi

A court has banned quoting or naming Khatami on air. Iran is routinely ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries; Iranians themselves are understandably fed up, and fortunately for them, this is a problem that Rouhani and his administration do have some power to tackle.

Newly re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia over the weekend as a “theatrical gathering” that would do nothing to combat terrorism in the region.

“Our missiles are for peace and for defense…” But the extent of his success will depend on the cooperation of Iran’s conservative establishment, led by Supreme Leader Khamenei. His defeat leaves the conservatives without an obvious flag bearer.

At the same time, the USA imposed new sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program and said it was continuing to review Iran’s adherence to the 2015 nuclear accord.

Thousands of people gathered in central Tehran to celebrate Rouhani’s victory.
Rouhani was a younger man in this speech, in his early 40s.

Some youngsters wore wristbands in violet, the colour of Rouhani’s campaign.
The head of the Iranian atomic energy agency (AEOI) said Saturday (29 April) that his country will honour its commitments to its nuclear agreement regardless of who wins the presidential election on 19 May. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for instance, was not permitted to contest again.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members have expressed fear and trepidation at President Trump, “It’s like they’re preparing to deal with a child – someone with a short attention span and mood who has no knowledge of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, no interest in in-depth policy issues, nothing,”.

And I think Trump’s speech really failed to acknowledge that anything happened in Iran over the last few days.

Speaking in Jerusalem, the U.S. leader offered no specifics but said he was “personally committed” to helping to resolve the decades-old conflict. But there would be no nuclear deal without the blessing of the supreme leader. It’s true that secret negotiations picked up after Rouhani won in 2013. Whatever the truth, the fact is that the Iranian political process contrasts in its openness with the absolutism of the Gulf monarchies and the now defunct Arab dictatorships.