Rafsanjani rejects ‘power struggle’ in Iran

Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has rejected a “power struggle” among top Iranian officials following the last month’s presidential election.

“I have hope in the Leader [of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] to take an action to resolve the current problems based on his thoughts and experience,” said the influential cleric on Sunday.

“I have the same short-term solutions, which I offered in the Friday prayer sermons,” he added.

Leading Tehran Friday prayers on July 17, Rafsanjani said that ambiguities surrounding the June 12 presidential vote had shaken the trust of a large portion of the Iranian society in the establishment.

“Our key issue is to regain the trust, which the people had and now to some extent is shattered,” Rafsanjani told thousands of people.

The official results of the vote, which saw millions casting their ballots after weeks of intense campaigning by four candidates, have been rejected by two of the hopefuls, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and their supporters as fraudulent.

In his Sunday remarks, Rafsanjani expressed regret about ground prepared for foreign enemies of the Islamic Revolution and their media to question achievements of the country and its management.

“Mistakes by a party, a person, a group or a movement can be compensated but it is difficult to correct a mistake, if the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic establishment will be brought into question,” he said.

The head of the Expediency Council pointed to 50 years of friendship between himself and Ayatollah Khamenei starting long before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, saying, “He is a progressive and forward-looking thinker in different issues.”

“The propaganda by the foreign media who seek to portray that there is a power struggle in the top level of the country is indeed unfair injustice to the Islamic Revolution,” he added.

“The current differences are only related to the [June 12] election and its aftermaths. If these disputes are settled, the row will end.”

Iran blamed foreign powers, namely Britain, for ‘interference’ in its internal affairs and for playing a significant role in fueling the post-vote unrest.

The two-time former president suggested that paying attention to concerns and viewpoints of critics can be useful in “promoting the goals of the Islamic Revolution and settling the country’s problems”.