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Hassan Rouhani (12 November 1948- ), born Hassan Fereydoun, is an Iranian politician, lawyer, academic and diplomat serving as the seventh and current president of Iran under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, taking office in 2013 and succeeding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Hassan Fereydoun was born to a highly religious Persian family in Sorkheh, Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty. His father was a vocal opponent of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Fereydoun changed his last name to Rouhani some point in his life, meaning "cleric", though when he changed it was a mystery.
During the 1970s, Rouhani was an avid supporter of Ruhollah Khomeini during the Iranian Revolution, having been arrested over twenty times before the revolution succeeded. Rouhani quickly rose through the ranks and became a member of the Supreme Defence Council during the Iran-Iraq War. In May 1986, Rouhani was one of the three people who talked to McFarlane about buying weapons. Eventually, this weapons sale became known as the Iran-Contra Affair.
In 2013, Rouhani ran as a moderate, with his main goal involving withdrawing nuclear weapons from Iran in a deal with the United States, though many suspect an ulterior motive behind the deal. By loosening tensions with the US, as well as supporting ideas such as women's rights, Iran seemed to be on its way to become a prosperous nation for three years.
However, following the election of Donald Trump, heavy sanctions were imposed on Iran, Rouhani became increasingly hardline, partly so he can cling onto power. Heavy protests erupted in Iran, mainly due to the rise in the oil prices. Alongside Khamenei, Rouhani promised retribution against the US following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
Rouhani is allied with several other authoritarian leaders, such as Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bashar al-Assad and Xi Jinping.
Villainy
- Controlling the Iranian media and censoring criticism of the government
- Participating in Anti-Semitism rallies
- Causing an internet blackout due to protests
- Supporting other dictatorships, such as that
- Helping to prop up Assad's dictatorship in Syria and funding the terrorist organisation Hezbollah
- Ordering the killings of 200+ protestors