Rouhani says Iran has no true political parties

By N. Umid, S.Isayev

Azerbaijan, Trend - Iranian president Hassan Rouhani expressed sorrow about country not having any true political parties, ISNA news agency reported.

Rouhani made the remarks during the ceremony of presenting Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli as Iran's new Interior Minister.

There are no political wings in its real meaning in Iran, he said, adding that, some groups gathered together, but they are active just in election periods.

He went on to note that, in first years of Islamic Revolution Islamic Republic Party formed and started his activity for a short time, but it was not permanent.

"Some argued me to elect my cabinet members from one wing for best coordination, but I don't believe in such strategy, because reformist or conservative are just words and are not real political wings," he said.

It should be recalled that, the Islamic Republican Party (IRP) was a political party in Iran, formed in mid-1979 by top Revolution leaders including Mohammad Beheshti, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Khamenei, and Abdolkarim Mousavi-Ardabili.

It was disbanded in May 1987 due to internal conflicts.

During last president elections in Iran (June 14), Iranian reformist groups such as Mosharekat Front, Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization, the Mordomsalari Party (Democratic Party) and Kargozaran supported Hassan Rouhani, who eventually won the presidential elections.

Combatant Clergy Association, Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, Islamic Coalition Party, Ansar-e Hezbollah, Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution can be categorized as conservative groups in Iran.

The main reformist parties such as Mosharekat Front and Islamic Revolution Mojahedin Organization banned after 2009 presidential election protests.