Frequently attacked by conservatives over the past months, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has suddenly started to gain their support in a sudden shift in the Iranian policy.
Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' strongman in Syria, sent a letter on Wednesday praising Rouhani. The letter was published by Fars News Agency.
Soleimani praised "wise and appropriate" words made at the perfect time, in a hint to Rouhani’s latest statements on Israel and the US.
Rouhani stated in the Swiss capital Bern Tuesday that his country considers the "Zionist regime as an illegitimate regime." He also questioned the US ability to prevent Iran from exporting its oil.
Rouhani visited Europe to seek economic guarantees in return for Iran remaining in the nuclear deal, after US withdrawal in May.
Rouhani’s statements in Iran were seen as a threat to lock the Strait of Hormuz through where 30 percent of the oil passes.
Rouhani, who has sought to open up various economic sectors to private enterprise, has repeatedly criticised the Revolutionary Guards for exerting too tight a grip on Iran's economy.
Rouhani, moderately conservative president who was re-elected in 2017, is also one of the architect of Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The deal was signed in Vienna in July 2015 between Iran and P5+1 (China, US, France, UK, Russia and Germany).
Under the deal, Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear programme in exchange for easing multilateral sanctions which had strangled the economy.
Since he first took office as president, Rouhani has regularly been attacked by conservatives who see that the withdrawal of US from the deal is an evidence that their doubts towards the West is justified. Rouhani was also slammed by his competitors who accused him of abandoning the poorest social classes.
In late June, the internal tension reached a level that pushed conservative deputies to demand that Rouhani be impeached. However, things changed suddenly after a speech delivered by Rouhani on 17th of the same month when he called for national unity.
