TEHRAN – The secretary general of the Front of Followers of the Line of Imam and Leadership believes electoral rivals should not unfairly criticize Hassan Rouhani because it will “backfire”.

It will become like the 2009 election when one side all the time argued that the government had been a failure, Mohammad Reza Bahonar told a conference on Wednesday, Nasim reported.

Rouhani is currently under harsh scrutiny by critics who have launched an investigation campaign to find if his doctoral thesis is not genuine.

SP/PA