‘Economy, foreign policy will be next president’s tough challenges’

TEHRAN,Jan.23(MNA) – An Expediency Council member says the next president will face many serious challenges including tackling a turbulent economy and regulating foreign policy. “The new government will have many challenges and the new president’s job will be very tough,” Hassan Rohani, director of the Research Center of the Expediency Council, said in an interview with the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency published on Tuesday. “At least in the area of economy, the new government will face great problems,” Rohani said. For example, he said, turbulence in the foreign currency market, high commodity prices, and foreign trade are among issues that the next government should tackle with. He added that financial, monetary, banking issues and social affairs, especially the income gap created between social classes, are also among other problems that the next administration should deal with. The former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council also said that the next president should present practical plans for resolving problems. “Anybody who wants to stand as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election should work out a solution and present practical plans for these problems.” Iran’s presidential election will be held on June 14. Rohani also said that the presidential election will take a multi-polar course instead of bipolar dimension in which only two major factions will face a showdown. “In many elections, especially presidential elections, the campaign climate have been bipolar but this time it will definitely be multi-polar.” Asked which faction he predicts will emerge victorious in the presidential election, he said, “It is too soon to say who or which faction will win the upcoming election.”