Iranian authorities open criminal case against ex-President Hassan Rouhani

Iran’s Special Prosecutor’s Office for Clergy Affairs has opened several criminal cases against ex-President Hassan Rouhani on charges of fraud and corruption. He will have to answer a series of questions before the court, according to the words of the official representative of the judiciary Masood Setayeshi agency Isna. The official did not provide details of the case.

The representative of the judiciary noted that Rouhani’s case will not be considered within the framework of general civil jurisdiction, since the former president is still a clergyman. The reformist politician and one of the co-sponsors of the nuclear deal (signed in 2015 through the mediation of the five members of the UN Security Council and Germany) served two terms as head of state – from 2013 to August 2021. In August 2021, he was replaced by the current President Ebrahim Raisi. During the years of Rouhani’s presidency from December 2017 to January 2018, large-scale anti-government protests took place in Iran, caused by a sharp deterioration in the socio-economic situation in the country.