Iran: Factional Disputes Over Ahmadinejad's Remarks Prior to Presidential Election
- Saturday, 01 April 2017 14:51
NCRI - On the verge of Iran’s presidential election in May, tension and a major power struggle between the regime’s factions is becoming more vivid than ever before.
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made remarks on March 22nd in Ahvaz, stirring up a significant amount of tension.
“Those who think the people don’t understand are the stupidest people on earth. What kind of monarchy is this, seen in some people… they want 97% of everything. Why are you looking for such possessions? 80 million people don’t understand and you do?” he said.
While those close to Ahmadinejad believe his remarks were targeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaie – currently secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council – believes Ahmadinejad intended his remarks at Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Rezaie has called on Ahmadinejad to rescind his words, according to the state-run Mehr news agency.
On September 26th, 2016, Khamenei had made it clear he considers Ahmadinejad’s participation in the presidential election as “improper”.
Despite all this, Ahmadinejad issued a statement expressing his support for the candidacy of Hamid Baghaie.
In the meantime, Nosser Imani, a known figure loyal to Khamenei, said in an interview on Wednesday that Ahmadinejad’s support of Baghaie “is in fact completely against the recommendations made by the Supreme Leader, as it polarizes the election.”
