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dpa
Tehran
Iranian President Hassan Rowhani called for a referendum on Wednesday to clarify the country’s political course amid escalating calls for change.
“If we fail to come up with solutions to issues we have been discussing for more than 40 years, we should ask for a referendum,” Rowhani said, referring to the period since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rowhani said the “strategic differences” between the country’s political forces of reformists and hardliners should be clarified through a vote, according to comments carried by a government statement.
Such a vote is a taboo subject in Iran, where the religious government maintains tight control. It has been 40 years since the referendum that cast out the monarchy and established the Islamic republic.
Rowhani has suggested that the country should not distance itself from the outside world and take into account the realities of the 21st century, as desired by reformists.
Hardliners and reformists have clashed over such issues as rapprochement with the West, access to the internet, and restrictions on female attendance at stadiums.
Hardliners see reformist changes as part of the “Western cultural invasion” with which Iran’s enemies seek to undermine Islamic values.
Tehran
Iranian President Hassan Rowhani called for a referendum on Wednesday to clarify the country’s political course amid escalating calls for change.
“If we fail to come up with solutions to issues we have been discussing for more than 40 years, we should ask for a referendum,” Rowhani said, referring to the period since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Rowhani said the “strategic differences” between the country’s political forces of reformists and hardliners should be clarified through a vote, according to comments carried by a government statement.
Such a vote is a taboo subject in Iran, where the religious government maintains tight control. It has been 40 years since the referendum that cast out the monarchy and established the Islamic republic.
Rowhani has suggested that the country should not distance itself from the outside world and take into account the realities of the 21st century, as desired by reformists.
Hardliners and reformists have clashed over such issues as rapprochement with the West, access to the internet, and restrictions on female attendance at stadiums.
Hardliners see reformist changes as part of the “Western cultural invasion” with which Iran’s enemies seek to undermine Islamic values.
