Highlights: Second debate in 2024 Iran presidential election

The second televised debate in the 2024 Iranian presidential election has commenced, with six contenders presenting their blueprints on the country's economic as well as social issues.

This debate follows the first one held on Monday, which centered exclusively on the theme of the economy, covering important topics such as economic development plans, sanctions, inflation, foreign trade, and investments.

Campaigning for the snap presidential election, scheduled for June 28, is in full swing, with six candidates in the fray—Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Masoud Pezeshkian, Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Alireza Zakani, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and Saeed Jalili—pulling out all the stops to win voters' favor. 

Here are live updates of the second televised presidential debate hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).

The second presidential debate commences with the recitation of holy verses. Ghazizadeh Hashemi is seated in chair one, Qalibaf in chair two, Pourmohammadi in chair three, Zakani in chair four, Pezeshkian in chair five and Jalili in chair six.

Jalili:

• We must view threats with opportunities. Today, there are abundant global opportunities for the country's progress.
• The idea of delaying for four or five years again and saying until such and such issue is resolved, other issues won't be resolved, is a mistaken experience
• Saying that it's Generation Z that doesn't understand our language and we don't understand theirs is not true. They understand our language and we understand theirs.
• Today, we stand on the threshold of an election. We can either make excuses for not accomplishing several matters or we can invite extensive public participation in the elections. We invite recognition of our capacities with this maximalist approach that we're presenting.

Pezeshkian:

• Anyone who is honest with the people and believes in what they say will definitely have support behind them.
• To eradicate poverty, we must believe in people and involve them (in decision making). We need to establish a close and friendly relationship with people.

Zakani: 

• I have overseen the livelihood sector. The subsidies people receive can increase by 30-40 percent.
• Regarding housing, based on legal capacities and past experiences, we can solve the housing problem within five years.
• Attention to classroom, teachers, knowledge, and content can bring about a transformation in education sector.
• If higher education becomes the focus of transformation and ecological thought alongside biospheric thought, intellectuals will see its impact.

Pourmohammadi:

• With limited resources, we must strive to have maximum facilities and productivity.
• We do not understand the judicial, administrative, and executive system well, nor do we understand its challenges. 
• To move forward, we must pay attention to intellectuals, respect them, and accept intellectual diversity.
• Traditional methods of fighting corruption are ineffective. We are facing unplanned situations every day, and people see it and become more depressed.

Qalibaf: 

• To improve people's current situation, we have designed an economic supportive shield. We must not allow people's livelihoods to shrink.
• We need to bridge the gap between inflation and wage increases. We will ensure people's welfare through a welfare card covering healthcare, livelihood, and essential goods.
• We will allocate plots of land to those who do not own land in 80 percent cities and 100 percent villages. We will also provide 75-square-meter units to young couples without rent for up to 3 years.
• We need to build walls along our eastern borders to ensure security of that region. Illegal immigrants cause serious social issues related to drugs and employment. 
• We need to establish Iran's second capital, the economic capital, along the coasts of the Sea of Oman and its shores.

Qazizadeh Hashemi:

• During presidency, we have two tasks: expanding people's opportunities and ensuring equitable distribution of the country's income.
• Social and political freedoms are possible with economic empowerment of the people. Economic justice is achieved by empowering Iranian households.
• I intend to continue the incomplete work of Martyr Raeisi's government, while also addressing its weaknesses.

Jalili:

• We have tens of thousands of faculty members who are a great asset to the country and have worked in various scientific fields for years. Alongside them, we have millions of university graduates.
• It is the right of the university to have a mission in the country's progress and to be able to fulfill its role.
• The mere presence of a number of professors teaching and students attending classes is a minimal perspective.
• Earning foreign currency today is a mission for the country to strengthen our national currency, but what is the contribution of universities in this regard?
• From the next semester, this mission should be defined, and the Minister of Science should be able to accomplish this mission.
• Creating jobs for graduates is one of the duties of the concerned university.
• In humanities, we have heavy research budgets, but in our bureaucratic system, its output is less effective. If we allocate these budgets to universities and students dedicated to solving a national problem, the output will be much more effective.
• If students feel they are effective in the country's growth, they will be enthusiastic.

Pezeshkian:

• Universities need to move from generation two to generation three and four. They must solve societal problems. Education should be based on understanding society.
• With these existing salaries, faculty members cannot sustain easily. Foreign countries snatch them away.
• University graduates should have the capability to solve problems after graduation.
• Respect must be shown to academic faculty and elites, and partisan and factional confrontations should be set aside.
• Currently, our highest rate of unemployment is among university graduates. This is due to our lack of precise policymaking in line with societal needs.

Zakani: 

• Education and upbringing (of children) can be changed with technology and innovation
• Our public schools should be as good as our public universities.
• We must utilize the capacities of (religious) seminaries in contemplation and theorizing.
• In higher education, attention to professors and careful consideration of their status should be emphasized. We must meet their needs. It's not acceptable for a professor to receive only 13 to 14 million in salary.
• In my administration, this field and focus on universities and seminaries will make a significant difference.

Pourmohammadi: 

• Consensus and unity cannot be achieved by slogans alone. When cliques, groups, and sidelines dominate any sector, it creates social distance.
• Closing down and eliminating the university environment and highlighting one group has consequences in the social sphere. 
• Our management style needs to change. Our behavior towards intellectuals, professors, teachers, and the public needs to change.

Qalibaf: 

• One of our problems in the education sector is the lack of stability in management. Managerial stability is crucial and unfortunately it has been lacking.
• No matter how good the plan is, if the executor makes mistakes, it sets us back and causes irreparable damage.
• A strong and responsible (educational) manager with experience is the foundation of the work.
• When artificial bipolarity is created in the country, it causes these damages. When we resort to excuses and pretexts, the work remains unfinished.
• When we don't involve people in managing these issues, we eliminate the role of families and fail to empower intellectuals.
• We need to consider how we achieve consensus and on what basis. When we talk about consensus-building, our foundations are based on the principles of the Islamic Revolution.
• We should act in a way that reduces tensions rather than escalating them, as tensions set us back.
• Our human resources are more important than our material assets.
• In postgraduate studies, both governmental and non-governmental sectors should collaborate with universities, if necessary.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi: 

• By maintaining the current educational structure and modeling of schools, we are wasting students' lives in this higher education system.
• In medicine, people study until they are 40 years old, and in other fields until they are 30. Then we wonder why the age of marriage is increasing and educational problems are on the rise.
• We need to create a serious change in the public education system.
• We must be able to integrate the higher education sector and intellectuals with the economy. Economic departments should be active in universities.
• If we want intellectuals to stay, we must increase their income. The solution is for knowledge-based companies inside and outside the country to become active and create wealth.
• During the two years of Martyr Raeisi's government, knowledge-based companies increased by 64 percent and their exports surged by 205 percent.
• Our total sales of creative and cultural industries increased by 31 percent, which means the income of our young elites.
• If our youth can have an income that meets the norms, they will not leave their homeland.

Jalili: 

• Per capita spending on students in government schools in northern Tehran is higher than in private schools, but they do not yield the same results.
• One of the discussions we emphasize is creating an equal world, a leap for Iran (Jalili's campaign slogan). 
• Where is the best place for opportunities to flourish? It's the school. 
• If we believe that the country must progress, we must plan education from school. Education is the army of opportunities.
• People must be able to play a role in the progress of the country, and everyone with talent should flourish.
• The prerequisite for the country's progress is for education to find its rightful place, and the Minister of Education must be a valuable force to fulfill this role.
• One of our greatest assets are teachers and the education staff, and millions of students who devote 12 years of their lives to the country for its progress.
• If we divide the cost of education by the number of students in government schools, it is higher than the cost of education for students in private schools in northern Tehran, but why is there no return?
• If we (properly) model our schools, greater successes will take shape.

Pezeshkian:

• First, we need to consider whether a child in a village or deprived areas receives the same services as our children (in cities) .
• Government schools should provide the same services that a responsible parent gives to their child.
• Non-governmental schools provide opportunities and cover a percentage (of costs), but 80 percent of those in government schools cannot go to university.
• When we don't reach the teachers, naturally a teacher with multiple jobs cannot find the opportunity to reach the people's children.
• It's not possible to advance programs in uncertainty. It's the same issue that Mr. Ghalibaf mentioned or what Mr. Zakani said. The Minister of Education must be the strongest (in the government).

Zakani:

• The status and growth of teachers should be preserved so that teaching becomes a crown jewel of employment in the country.
• The future of the country is determined by the education system. Education begins in the family and continues in all educational structures such as schools, mosques, seminaries, and universities.
• Education is not an expense but an investment. Reform in education must start from the classroom, not from headquarters. Students must be given the right to speak.
• There is a mechanical approach to education and upbringing. Attention to education and its contents should not be summarized in the classroom.
• Another perspective is also about upbringing and precision; providing creativity, skills, and education for students cannot be achieved without the help of capable educators.
• The strongest minister in (my) cabinet will be the Minister of Education.

Pourmohammadi: 

• Education is not a place for partisan competition. Educational and research institutions are central to the growth and development of society.
• We must appreciate the extensive efforts of teachers and the vast volume of dedicated personnel (in the education sector). 
• The progress of our country has been due to the blessings of our educational, research, and investigative forces.
• Our educational content system needs to change; significant changes have occurred in this field worldwide. 
• Our closed, similar, and top-down system is one of the flaws in our educational system.
• In teaching methods and educational content, we can delegate matters to our own teachers.
• Only a few hundred people should be involved in shaping our education system.
• We must approach education with clear and unified policies and not allow it to be marginalized because our children are our capital.

Qalibaf: 

• Sufficient understanding is necessary for taking every decision. In the education system, 15 to 16 ministers and acting ministers have changed places.
• Education is the place of upbringing, thought, and future, but its management has changed numerous times, which is unprecedented. 
• Today, we have reduced the education budget compared to the past, despite this ministry being the foundation of the country's education.
• We must prioritize kindergarten before elementary school and build a social structure around it.
• School and its environment, in terms of physical structure and teacher issues, are the most important matters, with everything else subordinate to them. We should prioritize the content and subjects related to teachers.
• Our output from education does not match our investment. On the other hand, our teachers have very low salaries, receiving only 50,000 tomans per hour.
• In the fourteenth government, we will prioritize education, universities, which are the basis of our productivity for economic growth, in decision-making, skills, and lifestyle.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi:

• During President Raeisi's government, 295 thousand teachers were recruited after the coronavirus pandemic. 
• A total of 6,668 new educational spaces were built, and 35,000 new classrooms were delivered to the Ministry of Education. Around 911 thousand children who had dropped out of school returned to education.
• Education is our most important ministry. Its budget should increase from 9 to 30 percent. 
• We made a strategic error in public education system and now lose the prime age for nurturing (of children), which is 3 to 7 years old.

Jalili: 

• Healthcare is one of the duties highlighted in the Iranian Constitution and is a right of the nation.
• Some healthcare issues discussed here are more related to the Ministry of Health, but many of them are beyond the Ministry of Health and are related to the public health.
• For example, in recent years, our average annual road fatalities have been between 17,000 to 25,000. When serious casualties average 20,000, in eight years it equals the martyrs of the imposed war (1980s). There are many times more injured and amputee.
• Employment, job security, and stresses affect people's health. How many diseases and deaths did we have due to social factors affecting health, like road construction and urban development. 
• If we say that air pollution, dietary habits, road accidents, etc can endanger health, who should plan for them? This responsibility falls on the country's president and the Supreme Council of Health.
• If the president ten years ago had planned and targeted these discussions, and reduced a significant percentage of them, many people would have been in a better situation now.
• We need to reduce the diversity of policymaking institutions in this field. We have successful experiences in the healthcare network.

Pezeshkian:

• We are implementing the policies of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. Our program is exactly the law that has been written. But these laws are not implemented because the parliament, government, and judiciary have separated their table from the people.
• We cannot fail to implement the laws that have been written and then say we have a plan. It's our own problem that we don't sit at the table that we have spread for the people.
• Whether I become president or remain a (parliament) representative, we must reach out to those whose voices are not heard.

Zakani:

• I have tried to offer several (healthcare) packages to people, including oversight over the health sector. One important part is making healthcare services free for pregnant women.
• Our greatest asset in the medical field is our human resources, our network, our experience, and our functions, which we must preserve and use diligently.
• Transformation is needed not only through information integration and service levelization but also through health network and referral system and attention to health tourism etc.
• Mr. Qazizadeh remembers that I repeatedly discussed healthcare issues during the (previous) government and spoke about the unfortunate events that were unfolding (COVID-19) that time. 
• The path is completely clear and we can take the right path step by step. Health issues go beyond health and treatment. 
• The issue of medicine will not be resolved by giving orders to factories. We have discussed all these issues and the path is completely clear. There is domestic capacity, logical and expert perspective is necessary to accomplish it in the best way.

Pourmohammadi:

• Healthcare is one of our strong points. The capacities created after the (1979 Islamic) Revolution are notable.
• In terms of (healthcare) infrastructure, capacity, knowledge, education, hospitals, and beds, we are in relatively good condition.
• We need to expand these and the underlying infrastructure. Currently, aging is a serious issue for the country, and we must think about it seriously. Some new diseases, like autism, have also developed and need to be addressed.
• I emphasize prudent planning and creating trust, hope, optimism, and mutual cooperation. Our physicians, the extensive medical staff, and the large healthcare family are among the most intellectual groups in our system. They are one of our valuable assets. Health tourism, as mentioned by Mr. Qazizadeh, is an important capacity.
• One of the key areas the government needs to focus on is macro-level policymaking, providing a suitable environment, building trust, and most importantly, managing the economics of healthcare and health services.
• I am confident that with proper management of fuel and energy subsidies, we could potentially provide all energy needed for a desirable and high global standard of living, like in Europe, for free to the people.
• We have many issues that need to be addressed through (proper) approaches, planning, making the government more active, and reducing costs. 

Qalibaf: 

• In the healthcare system, there are influential factors that are not under the control of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. they have roots in other factors that require inter-sectoral coordination. Water, air, and noise pollution are unrelated to health and treatment. Addressing these issues must be inter-sectoral. 
• Proper planning and management are very effective in this matter (to address the issues of water, air and noise pollution). 
• The environment today is one of our strategic areas, on par with security, culture, welfare, and foreign policy, but unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to discuss it here.
• We must now ensure our future is bright, providing hope that this work is within our reach, and improve the current situation of the people so that they are not under pressure regarding health. 
• Healthcare is more important than livelihood. Currently, we spend between 8 to 9 million rials per capita on health and treatment. Is the quality of treatment proportionate to 8-9 million rials? Are our doctors distributed fairly? 
• Regarding patients with serious illnesses, the parliament had the honor of fully covering them according to the law. Today, about 2 million people are covered under it. Additionally, the first three social classes, totaling 6 million people, have been provided with free health insurance.

Qazizadeh Hashemi: 

• The presidency is for someone who has already examined the (healthcare) issues and is ready to provide solutions to people.
• We allocate $4 billion for preferential currency, yet people still face difficulties accessing (essential) medication.
• We must focus on health tourism. We have the best health infrastructure and doctors, but our doctors are migrating. 
• We will establish a fund worth $20 million and anticipate that the current income of €100 million will increase to €5 billion. This has two benefits: the healthcare staff will not migrate, and it will generate income for the country while aiding other tourism sectors.
• The healthcare network system must be completed. A good initiative was started in the previous (Raeisi) government, which should be continued.
• We need to have caregivers for the elderly who continuously monitor their health. 

Jalili:

• The healthcare system is partly related to the Ministry of Health and partly to other agencies.
• In the Islamic Republic, life expectancy has increased from 45 years at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution (in 1979)to 77 years.
• In the past 24 hours, 1,200 of our compatriots have died. The health system is responsible for reducing preventable deaths to zero or at least minimizing them. Forty-seven percent of these deaths occur before the age of 50, some due to air pollution, others due to drug use, and other causes.
• The (incoming) president has a duty in this regard and must follow up on this task.
• About 2.5 percent of people annually suffer from illnesses that are financially catastrophic, pushing them below the poverty line.
• At a time when 1,780 people per day suffer from financially catastrophic illnesses, the insurance system must have justice-oriented mechanisms.

Pezeshkian:

• When I was the university president in Tabriz (medical university), we restructured the villages and built health houses. Despite being a heart surgeon, my children worked in impoverished areas. We completed the health houses in deprived areas.
• A person is not a commodity and should not be treated as such. Before us, during the third development plan, everything was supposed to be handed over to the private sector, but we changed that. 
• We need to sit at the table we have set for the people, not act with special privileges for ourselves. 
• No matter how many doctors you train, they will not go to villages with a salary of 10-20 million. We need to change this structure.

Zakani:

• Regarding the healthcare system, doctors and nurses are our greatest assets. We will strengthen the health network and prioritize prevention over treatment. We will complete free basic insurance. We will continue the work of Martyr President Raeisi’s administration in this regard. Six income classes will receive supplemental insurance based on government tariffs.
• In our plan, 40 percent people's treatments will be free. Currently, 85 percent of treatments take place in public hospitals. For patients with difficult-to-treat illnesses, all treatments in public hospitals will be free under our (health) plan.
• The government will make strategic purchases from the private sector. This is very important and will direct the path of transformation so that healthcare can be ensured and protect individuals' lives. 

Pourmohammadi: 

• (Donald) Trump might want to return soon (as the US president). We need to enter this field with strength, seize opportunities, and make the most of every moment. 
• Has inflation been controlled? Has liquidity decreased? We need to look deeper and more seriously.
• Regarding healthcare, we are witnessing large migration of doctors and nurses. These issues largely relate to respecting this community and meeting their needs, as well as the economy of healthcare.
• Around 10-15 percent of doctors are doing well, don’t focus on them. Most other doctors are not well off. Their economic issues need to be addressed. 
• Our medical knowledge, techniques, experience, and industries are exceptional. Medical and health tourism has grown.
• We have enough ideas and innovations to prioritize prevention over treatment. We must trust these but also respect doctors and resolve their economic problems.

Qalibaf:

• I also believe that sanctions are not just a piece of paper and they harm the country. At the very beginning, I said I agree with negotiations, but negotiations are a method of struggle. The US has always shown itself to be an enemy of this land. Be certain that we are negotiating with an enemy, not someone who will treat you equally and justly.
• The Supreme National Security Council decided that the Parliament should pass a law, and this law was passed. Leader of the Islamic Revolution also stated that this law is beneficial for the country, the people, and the nuclear industry, and it has brought the country out of uncertainty.
• We need to pursue the lifting of sanctions. I said that to solve the problem of sanctions, wherever we need to go and negotiate, I will not hesitate. But on the other hand, it is rational to consider all the possibilities we have domestically. We waste 104 billion dollars of energy annually; will foreign companies invest this much even if there are no sanctions?
• It is important to build consensus. We need to pursue national interests domestically and internationally with rationality. I definitely have the capacity to build consensus, gather, and create the necessary environment.
• In the health sector, I must say that prevention should definitely take precedence over treatment.

Ghazizadeh Hashemi:

• I need to explain the misconception about President Raeisi's administration. Martyr Raeisi did not tolerate corruption. In fact he was the first one to report it.
• Government's duty is to shut down engines that create diseases: air pollution, noise pollution, soil pollution etc. 
• Good work was done in this area at the Martyrs Foundation. The Ministry of Health should be the policymaker and all executive agencies should cooperate (in this sphere). 
• We must ensure equitable access to health and medical services and cover medical expenses (of people).
• Our insurance system needs to increase its services and coverage for lower-income groups.
• During the presidency of Martyr Raeisi, medical and dental capacities were increased, hospital beds were added, 10,000 doctors were sent to underprivileged areas, 12 million people were covered (under health services), and (special) fund for patients with rare diseases was strengthened.

Jalili: 

• Eliminating absolute poverty is not sufficient with mere subsidies. We need to establish a welfare system across different (social) layers to achieve the sublime goal of welfare and eradication of absolute poverty.
• When you face difficulties in creating initial conditions for employment, it means a layer has been created that perpetuates poverty, illiteracy, and disease in a cycle where illness leads to further poverty or illiteracy leads to poverty, and vice versa... In this cycle, sustainable welfare and desired poverty alleviation cannot be achieved.
• Therefore, from the employment perspective and the fight against unemployment, detailed programs must be implemented. 
• One of the important discussions that Mr. Pourmohammadi pointed out is that if you want to combat poverty and corruption, it is necessary to have a mechanism to prevent what is termed corruption and bring resources towards the welfare system.

Pezeshkian:

• Anyone who comes to my headquarters, I will accept them because I want their vote. But what I follow the general policies (prescribed by) the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. That is my red line.
• There are many solutions in theories. Giving 10 million tomans to each person is easy, but what should we do with inflation, indices, and repercussions? First, internal cohesion and putting aside disputes are necessary.
• If we don't fix jobs and economy and don't solve our problems with the world... Right now, over several thousand billion tomans are being wasted because of our wrong decisions. Others are taking fields, and we are doing nothing.

Zakani: 

• Each person will receive 22 million tomans in energy subsidies (under my government), which will eradicate absolute poverty.
• In my (energy) plan, prices would decrease and gasoline price will be reduced by 3000 tomans to 1500 tomans.
• Regarding the payment of subsidies to the chain, I believe we should pay attention to the pre-chain circle (consumers). 

Pourmohammadi:

• All (presidential) candidates want to solve problems by addressing their root causes. 
• Statistics and solutions are continuously presented, but in every term, liquidity increases and the gap between social classes widens.
• Why do we think we can solve problems by remaining silent? Leader of the Islamic Revolution emphasizes issues related to sanctions, but these important issues are not being addressed.
• During the JCPOA (nuclear deal), Mr. Pezeshkian and his associates beat the drums of victory. Success was very low, but they claimed it was 100 percent successful. There was no investigation in the previous two governments on how successful the accord was. 

Qalibaf:

• To ensure basket of families does not shrink due to sanctions, comprehensive insurance in the social security field must be established in multiple layers. We must compensate those who are in absolute poverty or have weakened.
• Currently, the lower class people compared to the upper class are one to fourteen in terms of wealth. The upper class people have 45 times more wealth than the lower class people. This issue needs reform. 
• A total of 44 percent of our people do not even have a car and do not take any gasoline, but some families have 6 cars. Some families receive 140 million in fuel subsidies annually, and some receive none.
• We use nearly 40 percent of our energy inefficiently. This is the property of families, let them use it. 
• In our plan, anyone who saves (energy) decides whether to exchange it or sell it on the stock exchange.

Qazizadeh Hashemi: 

• A question for Mr. Pezeshkian and Mr. Pourmohammadi: These sanctions and FATF have been around for years, but why is the performance of (President) Raeisi's  government different from the performance of (President) Rouhani’s government?
• We have implemented what we promised at the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, such as eradicating absolute poverty and transferring assets to the people themselves, and so on.
• We have two main frameworks: universal coverage to correct energy imbalances and redistribution of resources similar to what Mr. Zakani mentioned, but our plan is incremental and based on our national currency.
• Assuming each Iranian household has two cars, we will provide energy subsidies in the form of 40 million tomans in the first year, 60 million in the second year, and 90 million in the third year. Any excess will be allocated to support the commodity vouchers they have.
• It's correct that subsidies should be given at the end of the supply chain, but the beginning of the supply chain also needs subsidies.
• The 450 trillion tomans in subsidy resources should be provided as interest-free loans at the beginning of the production chain to farmers and livestock breeders.

Jalili:

• The government's duty is to distribute resources in the best and most just way possible. If we compare two families in Tehran or another part of the country: one family with three cars and a four-person family without a car. The family with three cars receives 12 times more in subsidies than the family without any cars.
• The current system (of subsidies) needs serious correction. That's why we have prepared several plans on how to best distribute energy subsidies so that people's subsidies are fairly distributed. Subsidies should be based on individuals, not vehicles.
• We also have a food basket plan that includes 13 essential food items that should be provided to people as a minimum in the health system. 

Pezeshkian: 

• The first step is to see where we are. Statistics show that consumption levels of the lower and upper classes (of Iranian society) are drastically different. This relates to energy subsidies and gasoline consumption.
• The (conditions of) population below the poverty line (in the country) have only worsened, not improved.
• To solve problems, we must first have a common language and common perspective. Disagreements lead to failure in achieving goals. We must set aside our differences.
• Plans must be coordinated with experts, managers and public, otherwise fixing one area will lead to damages in other areas.
• The solution is not simple, but subsidies must be targeted and given to the lower class people, preventing the upper class people from receiving more.
• Inflation further puts pressure on the lower class people. Controlling inflation and improving economic growth will make things better. 

Zakani: 

• Our people live in a wealthy country. But the problem is we do not distribute this wealth properly. 
• Household subsidies in the areas of gasoline, gas, and electricity are not properly distributed in our country. 
• We have a package called the welfare package, which includes the "golden subsidy" for fair distribution of energy subsidies. We also have packages concerning livelihood, housing, employment, health, and recreation. It's unclear how useful they have been to people.
• As we make transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, people's benefits will increase. Wealth will be created for all people, including villagers, nomads, and retirees. 
• From the beginning of (my) government, special accounts will be opened for households, and this money will be deposited into their accounts as credit pegged to the price of gold, protecting it from inflation.

Pourmohammadi: 

• Providing justice-oriented services is a fundamental issue for all governments. 
• In the past two decades, however, a more serious issue has arisen: distributing subsidies in a way that ensures appropriate services reach everyone, especially the deprived. When we look at the current situation, this volume of subsidy distribution and our actions have not brought comfort to the deprived classes, and economic problems have increased.
• Justice has not been maintained either, resulting in the rich becoming richer, the middle-class shrinking, and the lower classes becoming poorer and increasing in number. 
• The expansion of subsidies coincided with sanctions. At first, we largely denied the sanctions. At a time when we should have controlled them and prevented international institutions from utilizing all the tools and networks needed to strengthen our economy, we paid no attention. 
• The electoral atmosphere is still not heated, perhaps because people lack trust. We must return to building that trust, go back to our track record and honestly assess what we have done.

Qalibaf: 

• Justice and the prevention of discrimination, especially concerning public assets, must be prioritized. There can be no reason or excuse to overlook justice.
• Our people's right is to have a good life, not an ordinary one. The reality today is that a significant portion of our households are struggling. The future president (of the Islamic Republic of Iran) is responsible for guaranteeing that this issue is resolved.
• I say this clearly that maintaining the purchasing power of households is directly the responsibility of the (incoming) president, and he must be able to manage (the issue) and be accountable for it.
• We must ensure that the share of labor in production does not decrease. Regarding whether subsidies should be given to producers or consumers, I believe they should be given to consumers. But we must know exactly how, by what method, and to whom. Otherwise, justice will not be delivered.
• We must strive to increase the wages of those with fixed income in line with growth and inflation, either through cash or essential goods.

Qazizadeh Hashemi:

• Poverty is undesirable in our religion. Islam envisions a prosperous society, considering poverty akin to faithlessness. Therefore, we must not let poverty take root. We must look at its causes and support those who cannot sustain themselves. 
• Unfortunately, we did not fare well in the 2010s, with economic growth close to zero, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in the Iranian household budget.
• Currently, 30 percent of Iran's population earns less than 12 million rials and needs assistance. Some households do not have a single employed person, and others do not have effective jobs. Therefore, the fundamental action is to develop employment and ensure at least one family member is employed.
• We have two main plans: firstly, to transfer assets that belong to people but are currency under government control back to people, and secondly, to reform the mechanisms listed in the Targeted Subsidies Plan, which have been inadequately implemented. 

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