Iran Conservatives: Raisi Is Not Aware Of What The Presidency Entails
Hardline commentator Mohammad Sadeq Koushki says If Ebrahim Raisi knew what he knows today, he would have never wanted to become Iran's President.
Hardline commentator Mohammad Sadeq Koushki says If Ebrahim Raisi knew what he knows today, he would have never wanted to become Iran's President.
Koushki, an ultraconservative supporter of the Raisi administration, who occasionally criticizes the government, added that most of the presidential candidates in Iran have no idea about the dimensions of the problems they must tackle once they get elected to a post, and that is why they make outlandish promises to the voters.
Koushki said in an interview with Rouydad24 website: "Raisi is a good man, but he has never held an executive position before assuming the presidency. He has mainly worked with the Judiciary where the nature of job is different."
He added that "Raisi does not have a coherent economic team. His vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, previously worked at the Executive Headquarters for the Imam's Decree, a charity organization that operates under the aegis of the Supreme Leader's Office. In that position, he did not need to be accountable to the people. But now this man is in charge of the country's economy."
Most officials in Raisi's cabinet lack expertise and managerial skills for their positions, Koushki argued, and quoted Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi who recently said: "I do some personal shopping, so I know about the economic situation.”
"The minister has the money to go shopping, but most of the people have no money and they mainly do widow shopping," the conservative commentator quipped.
Koushki further criticized the government for having no plan to improve the situation. He said, "The promises made by the candidates in the 2021 Presidential election showed that none of them was aware of the responsibilities that awaited them as president.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Shahryar Haydari charged that Raisi only hires managers who worked in his election campaign in 2021. He added that some 70 percent of these managers do not deserve the position they are occupying.
Haydari, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign relations committee, said: "Some government managers owe their positions to a gang and what the gang offered them."
The lawmaker said that although some 20 percent of the problems are caused by foreign countries, the remaining 80 percent is caused by the weakness and inefficiency of government executive who cannot manage resources. As they are unable to solve the problems, they attribute them to foreign countries.
“Some cabinet ministers who need to be able to tackle national problems, are even incapable of running a small office. Our resources are several times larger than some European countries and at the same time, the people's livelihoods get worse on a daily basis."
Rouydad24 on Monday featured the profile of Sakineh Sadat Pad, a presidential aide who has been appointed to follow issues relating to social liberties and rights. Pad who was a member of Raisi's election campaign in 2021, has not been observed to do anything that would uphold civil rights and liberties during the past five months when tens of thousands of protesters in Iran have been voicing their demands, the website wrote.
The report added: "Her comments during the short period she has been in office, however, indicate that she is there to restrict civil liberties, as she has called the protesters demanding freedoms as a minority who claim parts of the government have violated human rights."
Meanwhile, although she has said that she is an attorney, Rouydad24, has not been able to find any record on the Iranian Bar Association's database, which could mean her claim is probably unfounded. Pad's comment about the International Day of Preventing Violence Against Woman is quite revealing: "The highest form of violence against women is advocating the idea of women's equality with men which is against the rules of creation!"
