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Gossip grows as Rouhani skips meetings

As rumors spread in the Iranian media about President Hassan Rouhani boycotting Expediency Council meetings, some observers are comparing his avoidance strategy to that of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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Iran's Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani arrives for a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Tehran, Dec. 1, 2015. — Mehr News Agency/Majid Haghdoost

Conservative Iranian media outlets have been buzzing with the news of President Hassan Rouhani’s continued absence from the country’s Expediency Council meetings, which is chaired by his political mentor, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

According to Fars News, Rouhani clashed with the Expediency Council over the writing of the country’s Sixth Development Plan, a five-year plan meant to address the needs and future goals of the country.

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