Iran's presidential candidates discuss economic sanctions and nuclear deal ahead of July 5 runoff

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian presidential candidates on Tuesday discussed the impact of economic sanctions imposed on their country by the United States and other Western nations and presented their proposals for reviving a nuclear deal with world powers.

It was the second — and last — live debate on state television pitting little-known reformist Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, ahead of Friday’s runoff election in which voters will choose a successor for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon, said that sanctions imposed by the West have badly hurt Iran's economy. He cited a 40% inflation over the past four years and the increasing poverty rates. “We live in a society in which many are begging on the streets," he said, adding that his administration would “immediately” work to try to get sanctions lifted and vowed to “repair” the economy.

As he did the day before, Pezeshkian said he would find a solution to revive a nuclear deal with world powers by discussing the plan with the country’s parliament and finding possible alternatives. “No government in history has been able to flourish inside a cage,” he said, referring to the impact of sanctions on Iran's spiraling economy.

Former President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, in 2015 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.

Pezeshkian's hard-line competitor Jalili, who strongly opposed the 2015 deal, said during Tuesday's debate that the U.S. must honor its commitments on par “with the commitments we fulfilled.” He condemned his opponent for not having any plans for getting sanctions lifted and said he would resume talks about a nuclear deal.

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, also pledged to support the country's stock exchange market by providing insurance to stocks as well as financial support to local industries.

Both candidates pledged to revive the economy, provide energy subsidies to poor people and facilitate importing cars while supporting the domestic auto industry. They did not elaborate on the source of funds they will need to fulfill their promises.

Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. Of over 24.5 million votes, more than 1 million ballots were later rejected — typically a sign of people feeling obligated to head to the polls but wanting to reject all the candidates.

In this photo made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, Iranian presidential candidate reformist Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a debate with hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this photo made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, hard-line candidate for Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili speaks during a debate with reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this photo made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, Iranian presidential candidate reformist Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a debate with hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this photo made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, hard-line candidate for Iran's presidential election Saeed Jalili speaks during a debate with reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this photo made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, Iranian presidential candidate reformist Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a debate with hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Iran will hold a runoff presidential election Friday, only its second since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after only 39.9% of its voting public cast a ballot the previous week. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — UEFA suspended Turkey player Merih Demiral for two matches on Friday for making a controversial hand gesture at the European Championship, an incident that has led to a diplomatic row between Turkey and host nation Germany.

Turkey's vice president, Cevdet Yilmaz, denounced the decision as unacceptable and called for it to be “corrected.”

“The excitement and beauty of football should not be overshadowed by political decisions,” Yilmaz said.

The ban rules Demiral out of his team's quarterfinal against the Netherlands on Saturday, and the semifinal, should Turkey progress.

After scoring his second goal in Turkey's round-of-16 win against Austria, Demiral made a sign with each hand that is used by Turkish nationalists and associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Ulku Ocaklari, which is more widely known as the Gray Wolves.

Demiral had said it was an innocent expression of national pride and that he was hoping he’d have “more opportunities to do the same gesture again.”

It was condemned by German interior minister Nancy Faeser and other German politicians, leading to a harsh rebuke from Turkish authorities and the summoning of the German ambassador.

UEFA said it banned Demiral “for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute.”

Speaking before the decision, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is due to attend Saturday's game in Berlin, said the 26-year-old defender had merely expressed his “excitement” after scoring against Austria.

The Turkish soccer association had no immediate reaction to the ban, though Turkish media reports said the association would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration of Sport.

Omer Celik, the spokesman for Erdogan's ruling party, criticized UEFA's ban as a “an extremely wrong decision.” He suggested that the governing body had bowed to the influence of “certain pressure groups.”

“UEFA’s decision has cast a shadow of political influence over football,” Celik wrote on the social media platform X.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the decision "has reinforced the view that there is an increase in the tendency to act with prejudice against foreigners in certain European countries.”

Demiral was previously one of 16 Turkey players reprimanded in 2019 for making military-style salutes at games at a time when the country was conducting a military offensive in Syria.

The Gray Wolves group was founded as the youth wing of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, which is currently in an alliance with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, the Justice and Development Party.

In the decades following its founding in the 1960s, the group was accused of in the involvement in politically motivated violence, mostly against leftist groups.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

FILE - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a news conference following Friday noon prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 3, 2024. Erdogan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan will be guests of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

Turkey's Merih Demiral celebrates after scoring his side second goal during a round of sixteen match between Austria and Turkey at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. UEFA has launched an investigation into Turkey soccer player Merih Demiral's “alleged inappropriate behavior” after he celebrated a goal at Euro 2024 by displaying a hand sign associated with an ultra-nationalist group. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)