TEHRAN — The managing director of the Tehran Times and the Mehr News Agency on Tuesday wrote in a series of tweets about what he would have talked about had he been given the chance at President Hassan Rouhani’s question and answer session with a number of media chiefs.

“In the session with the president, I wanted to talk about one concern; the establishment’s main concern, which is people’s trust,” Mohammad Shojaeian wrote.

He underlined that although the people’s trust in the system were strengthened by the sacrifices made by thousands of martyrs, including Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, but at the same time, different administration’s performances have affected the people’s trust in different ways.

Shojaeian went on to criticize the Rouhani administration for its mismanagements in the last few years, including the scandal of giving out governmentally subsidized dollars to specific individuals, the ill-advised approach toward implementing of the gas price hike policy, the coronavirus headquarters’ contradictory decisions with regard to holding university entrance exams and the Muharram rituals, etc.

“You spoke of your concern about the rising public expectations, I should say that the administration’s officials have caused such rising expectation, and unfortunately, the inability to act on them has led to a loss of trust,” Shojaeian said, addressing Rouhani.

“Mr. Rouhani, invest your last year [as president] in increasing public trust,” he advised. “Our people are the nation of Imam Hussein (AS). They will resist in the face of difficulties, provided that… they trust their leader.”

MH/PA