Rouhani under fire over likely new Cabinet appointments
In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani comes under fire from Reformists who demand more seats in his second-term Cabinet. Meanwhile, reports indicate that his campaign pledge to appoint female ministers will not be realized.
Debate on the second-term Cabinet of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who was re-elected in May, has turned controversial as Reformists suspect that their expectations may not be realized.
On July 31, Abdullah Nouri, an influential Reformist leader, criticized Rouhani’s likely new Cabinet. “The news that we have heard about the abilities and capabilities of a number of the [proposed] people for the Cabinet is concerning. The Reformists' disagreement or opposition to the presence of some people in the Cabinet is being brought up [in order] to make [Rouhani’s] promises come true,” he said in a meeting with the Student Islamic Association of Tehran University.
He went on to say, “The concerns of the Reformists are that if Rouhani's promises and slogans are forgotten and deposited in the archives, the trust of the people will be damaged and the country will be harmed. In order to fulfill [Rouhani’s] promises, those who believe in [these promises] should be [the members] of the [new] Cabinet, because otherwise, problems will arise for Rouhani more than others."
Nouri added that the Reformists must not shy away from demanding that Rouhani name figures who believe in his electoral pledges.
