TEHRAN – In a speech on Sunday, the Tehran mayor said “the unemployment tsunami will wash away the (sitting) government”, Fars reported.

“They say unemployment rate is somewhere between 10 and 20 percent. But the fact is unemployment rate is beyond 27 percent,” Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said as rhetoric on the May presidential election is heating up.

“We are crossing the longest period of economic downturn which is going to become historic,” said Qalbaf who competed with Rouhani in the 2013 presidential election

SP/PA