Power outage; Rouhani "apologized" to the people, Raisi asked the Minister of Energy for a report

As protests across Iran escalated due to frequent power outages, Hassan Rouhani, who is in the final weeks of his presidency, said on Tuesday, July 5, that he believed his government's Ministry of Energy was "not to blame in this regard."

At the same time, in an action that is rare among officials of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian President said: "Of course, I apologize to the dear people who have suffered and suffered in these days."

Speaking at an industrial unit inauguration ceremony, Mr. Rouhani attributed the current situation to "extreme heat and drought," the temporary shutdown of the Bushehr power plant, and the "increase" in the country's industrial production, saying, "Of course, there are other reasons for which I ordered the First Deputy to identify and resolve the problems and solutions to this problem."

He did not elaborate on "other reasons," but in January of last year, after widespread power outages in several cities, it was announced that Bitcoin mining and its heavy pressure on the country's power grid were the main cause of this incident.

Officials of the Islamic Republic have refused to provide transparent information in this regard, but the positions of social media users and indirect statements by some officials have indicated widespread mining of cryptocurrencies, especially by Chinese companies, in Iran due to the cheap electricity in the country.

Since last month, power outages have disrupted the daily lives of many citizens in Iran.

This situation has led to residents of various cities in the country gathering in front of electricity offices in recent days and chanting slogans against the authorities of the Islamic Republic, especially Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported that President-elect Ebrahim Raisi, expressing "serious concern" over the widespread power outages in recent days, requested a report on the Ministry of Energy's actions to prevent this situation from continuing and to provide the country with the electricity it needs.

According to reports, Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian met and talked with Ebrahim Raisi in his office on Monday evening.

Source: Radio Farda