Prominent Iranian reformist Mehdi Karroubi on Thursday blasted the ruling establishment’s “disastrous” policies, particularly its nuclear program, accusing it of driving the nation “to the edge of the abyss”.
Meanwhile, former president Hassan Rouhani urged a “new strategy” to reduce tensions with the United States, saying Iran’s waning regional influence, domestic unrest and frayed ties with Europe had emboldened Washington and Israel to launch a June attack on Tehran.
Karroubi, freed in May after 14 years under house arrest for co-leading the 2009 Green Movement, told a group of reformists the government had promised to lift the nation to “the summit” through nuclear power but instead “dragged it to the bottom”.
He said the authorities had failed to offer domestic reforms or free political prisoners, urging senior leaders to “return to the people” and lay the ground for structural change “before it is too late”.
His ally Mirhossein Mousavi, still under house arrest with his wife Zahra Rahnavard since 2011, renewed calls for a referendum to draft a new constitution, saying the 12-day June war proved the need to respect all citizens’ right to self-determination.
Rouhani, who served as president from 2013 to 2021, described the June 13–24 conflict with Israel, which he said was backed by Washington and more than 40 countries, as a “turning point”.
He called the opening strike, which he said killed civilians in a residential building, a “war crime”.
Rouhani echoed other officials in recounting that more than 30 senior military and security commanders were killed on the war’s first day.
He said US and Israeli planners had expected the assassinations to paralyze Iran’s forces, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s swift replacements and morale-boosting visits kept defenses intact.
He said Israel, with US backing, had aimed to end the war within four days by killing the heads of Iran’s three branches of power in a strike on the Supreme National Security Council, but Iranian missile barrages on Tel Aviv and Haifa turned that day into “Israel’s greatest defeat” and derailed US President Donald Trump’s plans to declare victory.
Rouhani said the two foes pressed on “in desperation” after failing to topple the system, attempting to bomb a nuclear site with a US B-2 stealth bomber. He said Iran’s hypersonic missile response thwarted the attack and that the nuclear program was “only a pretext” for broader strategic aims.
The former president linked the war to Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, worsening relations with Europe after the Ukraine conflict, and Iran’s internal rifts since 2022 protests – factors he said convinced Washington and Tel Aviv of Tehran’s weakness.
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to prolong the war to shore up his rule, and Trump of revenge for past diplomatic defeats at the United Nations and in The Hague.
Rouhani warned the “enemy” still sought to dismantle Iran, urging national unity, stronger armed forces and the return of skilled Iranians abroad. He called for easing hostility with the US, improving ties with neighbors and Europe, and keeping the military and intelligence services out of economic and political affairs.
He also pushed for media reform, the creation of strong political parties, and a “people-based” intelligence system. Helping other countries, he said, should not come at the expense of Iranian interests.
Rouhani has criticized the derailment of his diplomacy, especially attempts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal in his final months in office, as well as economic mismanagement and curbs on freedoms. His detractors say he failed to deliver many of his own promises while in power.
