Iran Today: The IRGC, Basij and "Defeating The Enemy" In The Presidential Election

Rouhani: I Had To Answer Qalibaf In Debate

An EA correspondent writes: the video below --- showing moderate candidate Hassan Rouhani in his car --- was recorded after last night's debate.

At the beginning of the video someone on the road tells Rouhani well done and the man with him says he appreciates Rouhani for the answers he gave in the debate, and asks him what he thought about it.

Rouhani says: "I didn’t want to answer him [Principlist candidate Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf] like that but when I saw that he was not telling the truth, I had to say something to make sure people understand everything properly and also for historical records.  I had so many things to say but I wanted to follow morality. Unfortunately some people place justice and truth to one side in competition."

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Iran Today: Presidential Election --- Rouhani Ramps Up Campaign

Rouhani Talks About House Arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi

Moderate Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani's campaign team have published a short excerpt from a Q&A session Rouhani gave at the Sharif University of Technology on May 13, in which he discusses the house arrests of former Presidential candidates Mousavi and Karroubi.

In the video --- taken before the Guardian Council disqualified former President Hashemi Rafsanjani from the election --- the audience applauds as a student asks Rouhani what his plan would be regarding the house arrests of Mousavi and Karroubi.

Rouhani answers:

I believe that the next President of Iran… If I become the next President… but now that Mr Hashemi has registered, we have to wait and see… [applause, students chant 'Praise to Hashemi']… the next government, you see, continuing this split is not in our best interests…the gap, which is getting wider every day, should be eliminated. I believe the election itself could work to reduce the gaps, but I hope that the next government is able to bring about a non-securitized environment.

I don't think it will be difficult to bring about such condition in the next year, in which not only those who are under house arrest, but also those who have been detained after the 2009 elections will be released. [Applause, chants of "Rouhani, we love you".]

Rouhani also tweeted that people have a "natural right" to express themselves without fear of reprisals:

People have a natural #right to express themselves, including their #issues, without any concerns. #Rouhani2013 #hope #ruleoflaw

— Rouhani Campaign (@HassanRouhani) May 29, 2013

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Syria Video Special: Free Syrian Army Captures "Iranian Soldiers"

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UPDATE 1705 GMT: The Iranians in Syria. Press TV claims, from "a tribal figure in northern Lebanon", that five Iranians --- engineers, according to Tehran; soldiers, according to the Free Syria Army, who seized the men --- have been moved to the area.

Press TV does not indicate if two other Iranians, who were seized when they tried to obtain information about the missing men, have also been relocated.

The Al Farouk Brigade, which claims to hold the five Iranians and put them on a video which was released last week, is based in Homs, near where the men were abducted.

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