Iran's Ahmadinejad challenges Rouhani to debate 'baseless' charges

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday invited his successor Hassan Rouhani to debate "baseless and unfair" accusations that he is largely responsible for Iran's economic ills. During a televised speech to mark his first 100 days in office last week, Rouhani said Ahmadinejad's profligacy and mismanagement were as much to blame for inflation and currency devaluation as international sanctions. He said his government had inherited some $67 billion dollars of debt from Ahmadinejad, even though Iran raked in $600 billion in oil revenue during his eight-year tenure. Writing to Rouhani, Ahmadinejad, who left office in August, said he had decided to respond to what he called factually incorrect comments that could lead to "misguided" decision-making.