Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran’s Expediency Council, and Mohammadreza Aref, a former reformist presidential candidate, met on separate occasions with the new president-elect Hassan Rohani.
ILNA reports that during his meeting, Ayatollah Rafsanjani stressed that “moderation, reason and reliance on collective wisdom” will lead to “the protection and strengthening of national unity” and assist in resolving Iran’s many problems, especially the country’s economic situation. He added that “constructive and beneficial relations in the international arena” will prove to be effective.
Rafsanjani stressed that the “hope and passion that moved the youth of the country to participate in the election will be the chief and unparalleled resource for the 11th administration to fall back on.”
Mohammadreza Aref, the reformist candidate who withdrew from the election in favour of Rohani, told ISNA that he discussed issues surrounding the formation of the new government with the president-elect.
“In today’s session, I offered my input and announced that my team and I are ready to collaborate with Mr. Rohani in the new government,” Aref told reporters.
