President, 12th Administration loyal to promises to people

Dr Hassan Rouhani attended a session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly for reviewing qualifications of his proposed ministers for ministries of energy, and science, research and technology and said: "To introduce the new ministers, we did interact but we did not deal".

I did not abandon my criteria for choosing science minister, said the President adding: "Although the process took long, I stand by my principles".

Dr Rouhani added: "Dr Gholami is a leading university professor. My first condition to the Minister of Science was that the university should belong to all students and political tastes".

"We are glad that the university is alive and academics are sensitive about the country's scientific future," continued the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

No one should feel that the university is safe for some and unsafe for some, he said, adding: "Islam, the law and the expediency of the country do not allow us to stand against each other".

"Now is the time of national unity and resistance against enemies," continued Rouhani, saying: "The main burden of coping with enemies and colonialism has been on the shoulder of the university".

Stating that it is not appropriate for university graduates to look for jobs for years, he said: "I will personally monitor the administration of universities".

He also said: "Water is one of the most important issues of today and tomorrow. Many efforts have been made to keep water stable, but today there is not enough water for dams".

Dr Rouhani also went on to say: "We are still trying to import water, but we must rely on our resources," adding that water needs heavy investment.

"Administration's plans for wastewater treatment are ongoing," he continued, adding: "The most investment should be made on the demand and utilisation of water".

Stating that extraterritorial cultivation is one of the ways to manage water resources, President Rouhani said: "We are making great efforts to promote water technology and utilise modern irrigation practices".

He also said that the administration's approach to agriculture is less water and land and more crops, adding: "The water issue can be solved by co-ordination".

"The Ministry of Energy should be the Ministry of Wisdom to maintain water resources for future generations," he continued saying.

Stating that Dr Ardakanian's experience and expertise in water issues is international, he said: "The late Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was concerned about the development of Iran".

Iran can be the hub for production and export of electricity in the region, said Rouhani adding: "We can make Iran a hub for exporting electricity in the region. Western and eastern neighbours want electricity from us, so we can transfer our electricity to even third countries".

In another part of his speech, Dr Rouhani said: "Throughout history, one way of interaction between governments and nations has been striking deals and agreements with each other, and this is a part of the history of our country and the entire world; Keeping promises and agreements is a universal, trans-religious principle".

Keeping promises is the criterion of civilisation of a nation and the credibility of an administration, said President, adding: "If a government does not live up to its commitments, it will put its credibility for auction. If a government like the US government states that it is not committed to an important international commitment, and its reason is that the previous administration has been tricked, then what happens with the continuity of the responsibility of the governments?"

Dr Rouhani said that this commitment is the commitment of a nation to the other nation and a government to the other government, adding: "If the United States is considered a regime, this is a commitment of a regime to a great state called the Islamic Republic of Iran; not just Iran, but even five other countries".

"Being shaky on the previous agreement and inviting for the next negotiation is a ridiculous story," said Rouhani adding: "If someone makes a commitment and says that I have lived up to my commitments and I will act upon it accurately, so my award is to talk about the second issue, this is something to consider; but whoever violates the very first commitment, it is showing with its behaviour that it is not a negotiator".

President Rouhani also went on to say: "The administration of a country that abandons international commitments of the previous administration is not reliable. Today, the Americans are sending messages of readiness for negotiation to some East Asian countries; are they crazy to negotiate with you? You are explicitly violating your previous agreements and neglecting a UN Security Council-approved agreement".

The president emphasised that the way the United States is going will force them to abandon its future negotiation and commitments to other countries, adding: "Iran has fulfilled its obligations in the nuclear issue, but they say that why Iran, in terms of defensive and military, is powerful and why the countries of the region respect Iran; Iran's popularity in the region is because the United States has done nothing but foster terrorism and disagreement in the region".

"It is your problem. You have undermined security in Iraq and the stability and security of Afghanistan with your presence in the region; by bringing the terrorists to the region, you have undermined the security of Syria and Lebanon" Dr Rouhani added.

"If you are protesting these issues, we ask you: is the Iranian nation who supports the oppressed in the region against terrorism and separatism not behaving well and you who undermined the security of the region and made the ISIS and Taliban and other terrorist groups, sheltered the MEK, oppressed the nation of Iran throughout history, and stole the Iranian people's oil platform, do not accept being the aggressor country? You attacked our airliner and repeatedly called the Iranian nation terrorist".

Emphasising that the Iranian nation has always fought terrorism in history, he said: "The Iranian people have driven the MEK terrorist and other terrorist groups out of the country and brought ISIS and takfiri terrorists in Iraq and Syria to their knees".

"We will build, produce and store any weapon of any kind we need to defend ourselves, our territorial integrity and our nation, and we will not hesitate about it," he continued.

Dr Rouhani stressed: "Understand that we have been building missiles, and will continue to do so and this does not contradict any of international laws and it is not in conflict with Resolution 2231. We will continue to defend our national interests and security with all our might, and the enemies should know that violation of any agreement will be detrimental to them, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will give them a decisive answer".


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