Rouhani for 'year of unity' after protests

TEHRAN, Feb 11 (AFP): Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday called for a "year of unity" after recent protests as Iran celebrated 39 years since the Islamic revolution.

Rouhani said conservative officials should not block candidates they dislike from future elections, and that there should be greater trust in the people, including the use of referenda on key issues.

"I request that the 40th year of the revolution, the coming year, be the year of unity. I ask conservatives, reformists, moderates and all parties and all people to come and be together," he said in a speech before a huge crowd in Tehran.

Rouhani, a long-time regime insider who won power in 2013 and again in 2017 with the backing of reformists, has faced tough criticism from conservatives over his efforts to rebuild relations with the West and ease civil liberties.

He has tried to use protests that hit dozens of cities over the new year as a way to convince conservatives that they must follow his calls for reform.

"We should trust the people. We must allow all inclinations to participate in elections," he said in an apparent swipe at the conservative-dominated Guardian Council, which regularly blocks hundreds of reformist candidates from standing in presidential and parliamentary votes.