Hassan Rouhani's Iranian Presidency Has Been an Abject Failure
by Con Coughlin • August 5, 2021 at 5:00 am
[W]ith the Iranian economy on its knees and the country facing further international isolation, Mr Rouhani finds himself leaving office with his reputation in tatters and the ruling Islamic regime facing a desperate battle for survival.
Mr Raisi's victory in Iran's indisputably rigged elections in June should be seen not so much as a victory for the country's ultra-conservative supporters of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a desperate attempt by regime hardliners to protect the Islamic revolution from mounting unrest.
So, far from being the president that transformed Iran's fortunes for the better, Mr Rouhani will forever be remembered as one of the most disastrous leaders in the country's history.
When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani leaves office today, Thursday, he will do so in the knowledge that his eight-year term has been little more than an abject failure, both at home and abroad.
Back in 2013, when the 72-year-old Mr Rouhani became Iran's seventh post-revolutionary president, his central campaign pledge was to improve the country's economic well-being. In addition he promised to adopt a more liberal approach to domestic policy while seeking to forge a more constructive engagement with the outside world.
Eight years later, with the Iranian economy on its knees and the country facing further international isolation, Mr Rouhani finds himself leaving office with his reputation in tatters and the ruling Islamic regime facing a desperate battle for survival.
Perhaps the greatest indictment of Mr Rouhani's years of catastrophic misrule is that he is to be replaced by Ebrahim Raisi, known universally by Iranians as the "Butcher of Tehran."
