Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the inauguration ceremony of four projects at the South Pars gas field on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf, in Asaluyeh, Iran, March 17, 2019. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s president urged Iranians Monday to put a curse on the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia — blaming the US and its allies for his country’s ailing economy.
Monday’s televised remarks by Hassan Rouhani were meant to deflect criticism of his administration’s performance amid a spiraling economy after the Trump administration pulled out of the nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran last year, targeting Iran’s vital oil sector.
Rouhani urged Iranians to “put all your curses on those who created the current situation” and added that “the United States, the Zionists” and Saudi Arabia were to blame.
He didn’t say what kind of curses the Iranians should invoke.
A group of Iranian lawmakers gather in protest over a water crisis in their constituencies as President Hassan Rouhani submits the 2019 budget bill, in an open session of parliament in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. (AP /Vahid Salemi)
The economic crisis that is gripping Iran has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened Rouhani’s critics to openly call for his ouster.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
In December Rouhani presented the $47.5 billion budget for 2019, which is less than half of the previous year mainly due to the severe depreciation of the local currency following US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and restore US economic sanctions.
Rouhani’s four-year term runs until 2021, but he has been facing calls to resign over his inability to rein in the rising cost of living and hyper-inflation causing anger among ordinary Iranians.
Advertisement
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
