Iranians urge Rouhani not to disappoint

  • Published
Instagram image of RouhaniImage source, Instagram
Image caption,

Instagram was awash with celebratory images

Supporters of Iran's moderate President Hasan Rouhani are in jubilant mood following his re-election, but have urged him to stick to his promises.

Dr Rouhani's face has been used in numerous celebratory images, memes and even emojis.

Users also shared how they would run things if they were in Mr Rouhani's place.

Messages flooded most social media platforms, including Twitter, which remains banned within the country.

Image source, Twitter
Image caption,

Rouhani emojis have also appeared

Iranian celebrities and popular figures congratulated the president, but urged him to recognise the support of key political figures who had backed him.

On Instagram, Iranian actress Parastoo Salehi, external reminded Mr Rouhani of the "great responsibility" he was shouldering".

Iranian scholar Sadeq Zibakalam, external called on the president to pay tribute to former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami and visit the tomb of his late mentor Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

He also reminded Mr Rouhani of the support he'd received from opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, who remain under house arrest following their role in protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election.

Image source, Instagram
Image caption,

Rouhani's victory is a bitter blow to conservatives

'In Rouhani's shoes'

Some Instagram and Twitter users offered guidance to President Rouhani under a Persian hashtag which translates as "If I were in Rouhani's shoes".

"I would have gone to Akhtar street [Mir Hossein Mousavi address] for breakfast," @1momas tweeted, external.

Twitter user @mmoeeni, external suggested that Rouhani should punish hardline media outlets for providing what he considered to be unfair coverage of the campaign and siding with the ultra-conservative candidate, Ebrahim Raisi.

Image source, Instagram
Image caption,

Rouhani's victory speech was carried on Instagram Live

An image of an emotional Rouhani supporter named as "Mirza Aqa" was widely circulated on social networks.

"#If I were in Rouhani's shoes, I would go to Mirza Aqa tomorrow and give him a hug," Twitter user @elahehsalari, external said. bit.ly/2roNfVu

Image source, Twitter
Image caption,

Image of Rouhani supporter known as Mirza Aqa

Hard time for hardliners

Rouhani's victory is a severe blow to Iran's conservative establishment, and the majority of conservative users seem to have accepted defeat.

Supporters of Ebrahim Raisi emphasised how "peacefully" they had accepted the election results, comparing themselves favourably to the reaction of reformists after the 2009 presidential election.

Twitter user @mosbatboy, external sarcastically wrote: "16m warmongers and fanatics [referring to conservatives] lost in the election but the city is at peace... Eight years ago, 13m peace-seekers and civilised people lost the election and there was a civil war in the country for eight months".

Facebook user Mohammed Petgar suggested that the conservative groups "could only dream of winning an election", adding: "These delusional people will become a minority in Iran's political arena in no time."

BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world.