Tehran, Iran — TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian presidential candidates On Tuesday they discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their proposals to revive a nuclear deal with world powers.
It was the second (and last) live debate on state television between the little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, a former hardline nuclear negotiator, ahead of Second round of elections on Friday in which voters will choose the successor to the late president Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.
Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon, said sanctions imposed by the West have severely damaged Iran’s economy. He cited 40% inflation over the past four years and rising poverty rates. “We live in a society where many beg on the streets,” he said, adding that his administration would work “immediately” to try to have sanctions lifted and promised to “repair” the economy.
Like he did the day before, Pezeshkian said he would find a solution to revive a nuclear deal with world powers by discussing the plan with the country’s parliament and finding possible alternatives. “No government in history has been able to thrive inside a cage,” he said, referring to the impact of sanctions on Iran’s growing economy.
Former President Hassan Rouhanirelatively moderate, in 2015 he reached a nuclear deal with world powers that limited Iran’s uranium enrichment in exchange for lifting sanctions, but later, in 2018, President Trump pulled the United States out of the historic agreement abruptly restore tough sanctions against Iran.
Jalili, a hardline competitor to Pezeshkian who staunchly opposed the 2015 deal, said during Tuesday’s debate that the United States must meet its commitments on par “with the commitments we kept.” He condemned his opponent for having no plan to get sanctions lifted and said he would resume talks on a nuclear deal.
Jalili, known as the “living martyr” after losing a leg in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and famous among Western diplomats for his harangues and hardline stances, also pledged to support the Iranian stock market. country providing insurance. to actions, as well as financial support for local industries.
Both candidates promised to revive the economy, provide energy subsidies to the poor and facilitate the import of cars, while supporting the domestic auto industry. They did not provide further details on the source of funds they will need to fulfill their promises.
Iran will hold a second round of presidential elections on Friday, the second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. after only 39.9% of its voting public cast its vote The last week. Of more than 24.5 million votes, more than 1 million ballots were subsequently rejected, which is usually a sign that people feel compelled to go to the polls but want to reject all candidates.
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