28 May, 2017
Putin, for his part, offered his congratulations to Rouhani on his re-election, saying the results of the presidential election proved that Iranians are supporting Rouhani's economic and social measures as well as his regional and global plans.
Rouhani said Iran welcomes interaction with Turkey and Russian Federation to safeguard a ceasefire in Syria under the supervision of the United Nations.
Rouhani's victory, however, might help temper the Trump administration's anti-Iran rhetoric.
The Iranian leaders remarks support recent comments by senior military leaders in the country, who have repeatedly declared that Iran will "never stop" developing ballistic missiles, a program that has raised concerns with the USA intelligence community, which assesses that Iran's missile program could be used to carry a nuclear weapon. "Unfortunately, Americans have always made mistakes in our region", he continued. "And we also gave them an ability to continue with terror and with all of the things they've been doing".
The high turnout of almost 40 million Iranian voters represents an evolution from the catastrophic disputed vote in 2009, when accusations of rigging and fraud in the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were met by months of street protests of millions of angry Iranians.
"Rouhani's second term will not be better than his first", says the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. As vividly displayed in the president's speeches at the first two stops of his current foreign trip, the hostility toward Iran has taken on the character of automatically expressed dogma, seemingly divorced from actual events in, or involving, Iran and with no apparent attention to the specific interests of each country and where they conflict or converge. "United States raises allegations against Iran to "milk" Saudi Arabia, according to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif". "They should have polling stations in place for the people and let the rulers not be on a hereditary basis".
"I think there is a benefit to reassuring our Sunni partners and to pushing back on Iran for some of its behavior, especially given how anxious they were after the nuclear deal, and how much they ... were irrationally angry at Obama", Goldenberg, with CNAS, told Al-Monitor by phone from Israel.
Following Zarif's undiplomatic and unprofessional remarks, Amir Abdullahian - an adviser to Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and known to be close with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - provided a different perspective.
Khamenei has time and again warned that any opening in Iran's foreign relations, particularly with Western powers, should not translate into a "change of behaviour".
The British Prime Minister Theresa May was another European leader who sent a congratulatory message to President Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran after Rouhani's success in winning the second term in Iran's presidential office.
Rouhani broke the taboo of holding direct talks with the United States and reached the deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions.
President Trump correctly described the Iranian people as the first victims of the mullahs' regime. For example, before becoming a household name as a result of the 2017 presidential campaign, Raisi was virtually unknown to average Iranians.
Rouhani's statement comes as President Donald Trump, who just finished a visit to Saudi Arabia and is now visiting Israel, came out forcefully against Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, its ballistic missile program and its state support for terrorism. At the same time, the US imposed new sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program and said it was continuing to review Iran's adherence to the 2015 nuclear accord. "We will not wait for them and their permission".
"Our missiles are for our defence and for peace, they are not offensive".
