Rouhani pretends Iran defeated the US, without actually doing anything

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani needs to find a feather to put in his cap after failures to confront the coronavirus have left millions of Iranians vulnerable. His response: we’ve done everything right and we have responded to the US over the killing of Qasem Soleimani and we defeated the US over oil sanctions. There is one problem. Rouhani hasn’t accomplished any of the things he claims to have done over the last year.

His message  to the Iranian public on Wednesday was bragging in the face of a growing crises. While his own members of parliament are chaffing under the failure of the government to do lockdowns to  stop the coronavirus, Rouhani boasted that he has done well in the face of US sanctions. He says that the country is facing the worst pressure since 2009. Left without major oil trade, the country has survived, he argued. “The economic trend has been positive,” he said in his message.  He also says the government increased salaries by four percent. It’s not clear if that is helpful in the face of inflation.

Iran also responded well  to flooding over the last year he said. He mentioned that the nuclear industry in Iran is proceeded along schedule. Iran has been increasing uranium enrichment after  the US walked away from the JCPOA or “Iran deal” in 2018. Rouhani says that Iran conducted a strong response to the US killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. The US killed Soleimani after attacks on US soldiers in Iraq and after an attack on the US embassy in 2019. Iran responded with ballistic missiles, fired at Ayn al-Assad base in Iraq. Although around 100 Americans suffered concussions, the US has now sent Patriot defense systems to Iraq. It is unclear if Iran’s strike has had much impact on the US.

However Rouhani says the US will “never forget the attack on the US base.” He says that Iran has responded to the US. “I think the Americans will never forget because it was the first time in the region [that they were struck in this way].”

Rouhani asserts that the US has  given the US a “slap in the face” in response to the sanctions. Iran has embarked on infrastructure projects and it is surviving in the face of the US maximum pressure campaign. He also claims that in Qom and Gilan provinces the coronavirus has peaked and Iran is doing everything correctly in fighting the virus. Meanwhile Press TV and other Iranian channels continue to push conspiracies alleging the US is behind the virus and that it is a kind of “biological war.” In addition Iranian members of the security council, such as Ali Shamkhani, and members of the foreign ministry continue to beg European powers to help get around US sanctions. They have claimed the sanctions prevent Iran from fighting the virus.

The comments by Iran’s own foreign ministry and officials are thus in contrast to Rouhani’s boasting. Iran has been brought low by the coronavirus and worse is likely to come. Experts assert that Iran is downplaying the numbers infected and that many thousands may be dead, in contrast to the 988 who are listed as deceased on March 17 due to the virus. Iranian religious fanatics have broken into shrines the government sought to close to prevent the spread of the virus. The Supreme Leader has said the struggle with the virus is a war and those on the frontline, like nurses, are “martyrs.” This is  a  kind of apocalyptic vision that is not in line with Rouhani’s claim that reasonable diligence was employed by the government. It is not clear how much Rouhani even has control anymore as the army and IRGC have sought to send troops into  the streets to fight what they call is a “biological war” against the virus. Rouhani may be as out of touch with reality as clerics in Qom who are sick with the virus, one believing that heaven up above will save them, the other believing falsely that they have created heaven here on earth with policies that are more imagination than reality.