Iran's Rouhani calls for unity amid criticism from all sides

TEHRAN - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity on Saturday in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of an economic crisis and tensions with the United States.

"Now is not the time to unload our burdens on to somebody else's shoulders. We must help each other," Rouhani said in a televised speech at the shrine of late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

"The country's problems and resisting foreigners' conspiracies is the responsibility of every one of us."

With rapidly rising food prices, a dramatic currency collapse and the reimposition of US sanctions after it abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal, many Iranians are in a bleak mood.

Much of his electoral base among reform-minded urbanites has lost faith in him, while working-class areas have seen months of sporadic strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent.

Some of the most virulent criticism has come from the hardline religious establishment who long opposed Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the West.

On August 16, an image went viral of a protest by seminary students in the shrine city of Qom, at which one placard warned Rouhani would meet the same fate as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was found dead in a swimming pool last year.

Rouhani sought to play down the differences, saying: "The clerical, religious institutions and the government are alongside each other."

But he added a typically cryptic warning: "No one can walk into the sea and not expect to get his feet wet."

Hardliners have been blamed for stoking economic protests that have sometimes turned against the Islamic system as a whole.

Rouhani still has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who says he must remain in power to avoid further disorder.

But Khamenei has also blamed government mismanagement, rather than foreign hostility, for the current crisis.

"We are aware of people's pain, suffering and problems and all our efforts are geared at reducing these problems," Rouhani pledged.

Washington criticises EU on Iran

Meanwhile the US State Department on Friday said a European Union aid plan for Iran sends "the wrong message at the wrong time" to the government in Tehran.

The $20.7 million EU assistance package "perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," read a statement Friday signed by US special representative for Iran Brian Hook.

"More money in the hands of the Ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries."

According to Hook, the Iranian people "face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts."

He said that the United States and the European Union "should be working together... to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

The package of assistance offered to Iran, announced on Thursday, is "for projects in support of sustainable economic and social development" in the Islamic Republic, and includes funds to help develop the private sector, according to a statement from the European Commission.

The funds "are the first of a wider package of 50 million euros for Iran, aiming to support the country to address key economic and social challenges," the statement read.

"They are part of the renewed cooperation and engagement between the European Union and Iran following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)."

After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the major powers, Washington in early August reinstated sanctions against Tehran and issued a warning to countries that continued trading with Iran.