TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran’s parliament (Majlis) is “symbol of Islamic and religious democracy”.

“Majlis is an important symbol of democracy around the world. In Islamic Iran, the Islamic Consultative Assembly is a symbol of Islamic and religious democracy,” Rouhani said during a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the 11th parliament.

He also said that the constitution is the basis for cooperation between the administration and Majlis.

“Preferring national interests over partisan and factional interests will be the basis for the cooperation of the government and parliament,” he noted.

Elsewhere, Rouhani noted that independence of the three branches of the government does not mean conflict among them.

“We can maintain independence of the branches and interact in a way that we will be able to reach the main goal,” he pointed out.

He added, “The parliament, government, judiciary, and armed forces are serving the well-being, justice, independence of the people and national interests of the country. So, we should not forget these aims when we fulfill our duties.”

‘Administration and parliament can counter U.S., coronavirus’

Rouhani also said that the administration and parliament can cooperatively counter the United States’ sanctions and provocations and also the coronavirus through cooperation.

“So, in fighting the coronavirus and the United States’ economic war and its terrorist acts, which are both economic terrorism and more recently medical terrorism, we can fight their sanctions and provocations and also this disease together through cooperation and synergy,” the president pointed out.

NA