Hashemi Rafsanjani: I Speak my Mind but Have no Intention to Quarrel

Just a day after Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the powerful State Expediency Council, expressly criticized the foreign policy of the current Iranian administration, speaking at a different forum he stressed that he had no intention of “fighting or creating a conflict” as this would be to the “detriment of the regime and the country.”

In a meeting with members of the Anjomane Farhang va Siyasat (the Society for Culture and Politics) of Shiraz University, Rafsanjani said that he had always tried to solve problems through “mediation and discussion” with ayatollah Khamenei and those who “impacted the regime,” and thus not add to the atmosphere of “tension and conflict.”

Regarding his differences with the supreme leader of the Islamic republic he said that in ultimately he viewed himself to be obedient to ayatollah Khamenei’s views.

These remarks by Rafsanjani to students of Shiraz University come after his interview with Iran Diplomacy website (IRD) which was published two days earlier when he criticized the foreign policy and diplomacy that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration pursued. In that interview, he said the “current practice” was not desirable and said that during his presidency he intended to become close to the US but ayatollah Khamenei had opposed this. He further said that the “policies of the ninth and tenth (current) administrations had resulted in a deterioration of Iran’s relations with the region and the world.”

These remarks by Rafsanjani come after he stepped aside as chairmanship of the powerful Assembly of Experts on Leadership a few months ago, thus paving the way for Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani to take that position. Rafsanjani is currently the head of the State Expediency Council which was formed to resolve the differences between the administration and the Majlis. He remains a key opponent of Ahmadinejad who during the tenth presidential elections in the first half of 2005 ran against Ahmadinejad but lost the race to him in the run-up elections.

Comparing Ahmadinejad with Bani Sadr

Two years ago following the events leading up to and after the presidential race in 2009, Rafsanjani refrained from supporting Ahmadinejad despite ayatollah Khamenei’s positions for which he has been subjected to intense pressures by supporters of the supreme leader.

During this period, he has stressed that the Ahmadinejad and his administration have been repeatedly violating the law and not following the supreme leader, comparing his behavior to that of Bani-Sadr, the first president of the Islamic republic.

Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was voted into office with a clear majority but soon after that ran into differences with the ruling party (Islamic Republic Party) and ayatollah Khomeini and was removed from office for being “politically unqualified” for the position in1981, a little over a year after being sworn in.

Rafsanjani’s repeated comparisons of Ahmadinejad’s behavior to that of Bani-Sadr’s have come despite the fact that speaking at congregational Friday prayer one week after the conclusion of the 2009 presidential race ayatollah Khamenei had clearly said that Ahmadinejad’s views were closer to his than were Rafsanjani’s.

But since subsequent events such as Ahmadinejad’s one week delay in following up on Khamenei’s demand that Esfandiar Rahim Mashai be removed as the president’s first deputy, and the official non-acceptance of the leader’s direct demand that the removed minister of intelligence Heidar Moslehi be re-instated, ayatollah Khamenei no longer supports the president as he had in the past.

In his remarks yesterday, Rafsanjani again compared Ahmadinejad’s actions with those of Bani-Sadr. In response to a question by a student who had asked what were the conditions that lead the Majlis to pronounce Bani-Sadr “politically unqualified” to be president, Rafsanjani’s main response was, “standing against the law and the guidance of the Imam,” (the Imam is a reference to ayatollah Khomeini). He added that despite ayatollah Khomeini’s strict declaration, Bani-Sadr did not believe that the Majlis was “at the head of all affairs”, as he demanded supra-legal authority so that towards the final days of his presidency, it was the head of the Majlis that issued orders for the implementation of the law, something that was reserved for the president who was refraining from doing this.

These remarks echo the behavior of Ahmadinejad and some of the members of his administration in recent months, which have undertaken actions that are strictly contrary to what the founder of the Islamic regime had said regarding the supremacy of the Majlis and the demand for greater authority.

And similar to the situation that existed in Bani-Sadr’s days, there are currently many laws passed by the Majlis which have also been confirmed by the Guardians Council, but for which the president has not issued executive orders.

Rafsanjani’s New Proposals

In response to a question by a student about ways to resolve the current political differences in the country, Rafsanjani said, “Isolation of extremist and hardline groups and pushing them to the rim is the first step in creating a positive change”. Rafsanjani also said that under the current circumstances he did not see an alternative to the Islamic republic based on the institution of velayat faghih (rule of the clergy) and ayatollah Khamenei as the supreme leader.

“I believe that existence of mutual trust between people, political activists and the media with the regime is the breakthrough and solution to the problems, to be followed by free elections for the Majlis and the president with true representatives of the different sincere groups that believe in the regime and the constitution, can help move on,” he added.

In his last Friday prayer message in 2010, Rafsanjani had called for resolution the ambiguity over  the 2009 presidential elections, release of all political prisoners who had been arrested after the elections, demonstration of sympathy and understanding of those who had suffered because of the post-election events, and, the creation of an open media atmosphere in the country. Rafsanjani also criticized the national radio and television network for not taking advantage of the opportunity that had been created by the supreme leader to look into the complaints.