Iran's ex-president Rouhani urges public say on ending war, prompting calls for arrest

“We must, in accordance with the overwhelming majority of the people, end the war with honor so that we can rebuild the country, so that we can compensate for the damage done,” Hassan Rouhani said.

Hassan Rouhani called for the Iranian regime to allow the public to decide whether to end the war if a ceasefire agreement met Iranian demands, according to footage of the speech shared by the former Iranian president.

Rouhani, who reportedly made the comments over the weekend at a gathering of former provincial governors, criticized the small minority “who now hold the megaphones and are making noise,” in an apparent reference to hardliners who have opposed concessions aimed at ending the war.

“It is very important that the framework of our national goals is clear to ourselves first, and then we present it to the people,” he said. “We say to the people: our plan is to fight the world’s big powers for another 20 years. If the people say they accept it, very good, let’s continue. But if the people do not accept it and show us another way, do we not want to accept that?”

Rouhani called for the war to end “honorably” and in accordance with “the overwhelming majority of the people.”

“We must, in accordance with the overwhelming majority of the people, end the war with honor so that we can rebuild the country, so that we can compensate for the damage done,” he said.

The former president also criticized Iran’s state broadcasters, claiming that the media stations had become a “center for division.”

Backlash over Rouhani’s remarks

Though Rouhani’s remarks left open the possibility that the Iranian public could choose to continue the war, his comments were met with criticism from hardliners.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor-in-chief of the Kayhan newspaper, called on Iran’s judicial and security authorities to investigate Rouhani, accusing him of advocating surrender to the United States and Israel.

“The real meaning of Mr. Rouhani’s position is abandoning the defense and surrendering the country to the United States and Israel,” he wrote.

The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency also accused Rouhani of fueling polarization after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly called for national unity.

“Mr. Rouhani’s recent remarks are a clear example of ‘pouring water into the enemy’s mill’ and an obvious assist to those hostile to the system and the Iranian people,” the agency published, accusing him of failing to respect the dignity of the Iranian people.

Some Iranian media sites have also reported on public calls for Rouhani to be executed during pro-regime rallies, though The Jerusalem Post was unable to locate footage of said demands.

Notably, Rouhani’s comments came only weeks after former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005, voiced his support for the expired Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed by Washington and Tehran.

“Since World War II, no document signed by a US president has given this many advantages to the other side and imposed this many commitments on itself,” Khatami said. “If we lose the opportunity created by the memorandum, we will face extraordinary problems…This memorandum has no parallel.”