The president made the remarks during a visit to Imam Khomeini's mausoleum with his cabinet ministers to pay tribute to the late leader on the occasion of the 42nd victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
He said that Imam Khomeini was well aware that the soft power will prevail over hard power and therefore opted for the soft power.
Rouhani, serving last year of his second term in office, said that he was pleased with renewing allegiance to the father of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He said that the leaders of the revolutions tend to rely on either the political parties or the military powers, while Imam Khomeini preferred none of them and relied on the people, instead.
9341**1416
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish
IRNA English