Iranian presidential candidates accuse each other of having no plan or experience ahead of runoff

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s presidential candidates on Monday accused each other of having no solution for the country’s problems ahead of Friday's runoff election aimed at choosing a successor for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

During a more than two-hour debate on public TV, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian attacked his competitor, Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, for his lack of experience, saying: “Tell me, what single company have you ever managed to make you capable of running the country?

Jalili, who is known as the “Living Martyr” after losing a leg in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and is famous among Western diplomats for his haranguing lectures and hard-line stances, defended himself highlighting his career and several positions held, including that of top nuclear negotiator.

Pezeshkian further questioned his opponent on what plans he would have for reaching a nuclear deal, with Jalili responding he would approach it "based on strength not weakness,” without providing details.

Jalili accused Pezeshkian of having no plans for managing the country, saying his presidency would drive the country to a “backward position,” as it was under relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021). Rouhani struck a nuclear deal with world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment in return to lifting sanctions but later, in 2018, President Trump pulled the U.S. out from the landmark deal abruptly restoring harsh sanctions on Iran.

Jalili said that “with the support of people,” Iran would achieve an economic growth of 8% a year, a promise Pezeshkian mocked, saying authorities should be allowed to “execute him if he failed” to deliver on it.

Iran must implement "a dynamic foreign policy” if it wants to have a successful economy, Jalili said, adding that it should not be limited to those nations that it has a problem with — a reference to the U.S. and the western world. Instead, he said, "Iran should look to the other 200 nations in the world where “foreign relations should be improved."

Pezeshkian said his foreign policy will be based on “engagement with the world" including engaging in "negotiations for lifting sanctions.”

Both sides promised to address the problems of the country's poor, workers, women, ethnic groups and religious minorities, and vowed to provide better and faster internet — a plea to a younger generation that showed apathy during Friday's vote.

Pezeshkian and Jalili also said the low turnout in the first round — the lowest-ever poll turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history — should be probed.

“It is not acceptable that some 60 percent (of voters) did not cast a ballot,” said Pezeshkian.

The candidates will have their second and last debate Tuesday.

Follow the AP’s coverage of global elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, left, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands after the conclusion their debate at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, arrives for his debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, right, speaks in his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, speaks in a debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, arrives for his debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian arrives for his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A leading House Democrat is preparing a constitutional amendment in response to the Supreme Court's landmark immunity ruling, seeking to reverse the decision “and ensure that no president is above the law.”

Rep. Joseph Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to colleagues informing them of his intent to file the resolution, which would kickstart what's traditionally a cumbersome amendment process.

"This amendment will do what SCOTUS failed to do — prioritize our democracy,” Morelle said in a statement to AP.

In referring to Donald Trump, Morelle said the former president "must be held accountable for his decisions. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and stand with me on the front line to protect our democracy.”

It's the most significant legislative response yet to the decision this week from the court's conservative majority, which stunned Washington and drew a sharp dissent from the court's liberal justices warning of the perils to democracy, particularly as Trump seeks a return to the White House. Still, the effort stands almost no chance of succeeding in this Congress.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions take within their official duties — a decision that throws into doubt the Justice Department's cases against Trump, including his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump and his allies celebrated the ruling by the court, which includes three justices appointed by the former president, and his legal team immediately moved to delay sentencing for his felony conviction in an unrelated hush money case in New York state court that had been scheduled for next week. The judge agreed to push off the sentencing until fall.

The outcome all but ensures the federal cases against Trump will not be resolved before the November election when he faces a likely rematch with President Joe Biden.

While the constitutional amendment process would likely take years, and in fact may never come to fruition, supporters believe it is the most surefire way, even beyond a new law, to enshrine the norm that presidents can face consequences for their actions.

“This amendment will guarantee that no public officer of the United States — including the president — is able to evade the accountability that any other American would face for violating our laws,” Morelle wrote in a letter to colleagues this week.

He quoted from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who led the dissent, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson who joined in dissenting, before summing up his in his own words: "Presidents are citizens, not tyrants."

Another Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Monday she planned to file articles of impeachment against the justices over the ruling, which she said represents "an assault on American democracy."

“It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture,” Ocasio-Cortez said on social media. “I intend on filing articles of impeachment upon our return.”

Congress can launch the constitutional amendment process and then send it to the states for ratification. Such a resolution takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, which is highly unlikely at this time of divided government, and ratification by three-fourths of the states.

So far, there have been 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

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This story has been corrected to reflect Justice Sotomayor's first name is Sonia, not Sonya.

FILE - Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., questions a witness during a Committee on House Administration hearing about noncitizen voting in U.S. elections on Capitol Hill, May 16, 2024 in Washington. Morelle is preparing a constitutional amendment in response to the Supreme Court's landmark immunity ruling. (AP Photo/John McDonnell, File)