Tehran mayor attacks Rouhani in pre-election debate

TEHRAN: Tehran’s mayor and presidential candidate Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf has accused President Hassan Rouhani’s administration of dishonesty, mismanagement and supporting the rich at the expense of the poor in the first debate between the six presidential candidates.

During the first of three planned debates ahead of the May 19 elections, Qalibaf criticized the Rouhani administration, saying social and environmental problems remained unsolved because of “your weak management, your old and traditional management.”

Qalibaf added that Rouhani’s administration does not believe in privatization.

Rouhani and another candidate, Eshaq Jahangiri, in turn accused Qalibaf of false statements and spreading lies against the president’s administration.

Qalibaf, 55, a conservative veteran member of the elite Revolutionary Guard, is running for president for the third time after unsuccessful bids in 2005 and 2013.

On Thursday, Rouhani defended his economic record, and called for further engagement with other countries as the key to economic growth.

His remarks contrasted with the view of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has called on the six presidential candidates not to rely on foreign investment to revive the country’s economy.

The president said Iran’s economy had improved since his election in 2013 on a platform of ending the country’s isolation and creating a freer society.