Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the commemoration ceremony of the 55th anniversary of founding Iran Air (Homa) on February 24, touched upon the upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Expert elections, saying “people are fully informed about the candidates and will choose the best based on their own understanding and knowledge. You have to stop exaggerating the influence of old, obsolete colonial powers and underestimating the Iranian nation. You are making a mistake.”
He went on to add that “it was the people who cut off the hands of colonizers from reaching Iran and gave the nation independence on 11 Feb. Let us speak to these people in a way that their knowledge, greatness and intelligence will not be insulted.”
The President then moved on to the issue on Iran’s aviation industry, saying “we must reemerge as an aviation power for carrying passengers and cargo, and this day is fast approaching.”
Responding to certain criticism against the recent purchase of new Airbus passenger jets from France, Rouhani said “how long must Iranian people continue to be humiliated by flying on airlines formed tens of years ago especially in the south of the Persian Gulf? How long must they go from one travel agency to another and use foreign airlines for trips to other countries in the region and the world?”
He went on to stress that the aviation industry will be a source of power and authority for Iran, saying “we must revive the geo-political position of Iran so that the country can connect the world industry in the east to the west and vice versa.”
“Not only Iran is the shortest link between the east and the west and serves as the best aviation hub for travelling between these two points, but it can also serve as the best tool for transferring culture and politics,” he added.
Noting ‘safety’ and ‘ethics’ are the two most important features of Iranian airliners, Rouhani said “we need an invigorating air fleet in order to develop the country; for this reason, we have plans for increasing one and a half times the existing seats in our aviation industry.”
Elsewhere, President Rouhani touched upon the issue of Islam, saying “wherever Islam was introduced by Iran, it was the real and moderate Islam. Just compare the Islam that came from poetries of Rumi, Hafiz, Saadi and Ferdowsi to the one a number of extremists and murderers are trying to convey to the world.”
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