Conservatives' Reaction to Khamenei's Statements: "Ahmadinejad is Unpredictable"

Hours after the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic explicitly opposed the candidacy of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, several conservative figures described Ahmadinejad's behavior as unpredictable and urged him to "obey" Ayatollah Khamenei's advice. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, Secretary-General of the Islamic Coalition Party, stated in an interview with ISNA regarding Ahmadinejad's behavior after the Supreme Leader's recommendation that he is "unpredictable and it is impossible to foresee what he will do." In response to a question about advising Ahmadinejad, he said, "I have nothing to do with him." Mehdi Fazeli, former CEO of Fars News Agency, who had previously reported Ahmadinejad's "prohibition" from running in the presidential elections, said that Ahmadinejad and his friends "if they want to be described as 'revolutionary forces' should act according to the Supreme Leader's 'recommendation.'" He added: "He should have acted immediately upon receiving this opinion, but it is not too late now, and alongside this obedience, he should not forget his solidarity and companionship with the other revolutionary forces." Following reports about the Supreme Leader's opposition to Ahmadinejad's candidacy in recent days, Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed on Monday, October 5, that he advised Ahmadinejad not to participate in the upcoming elections. Khamenei explained that his opposition to Ahmadinejad's candidacy is "in his own interest" and that the current situation in the country means that his participation would create a "polarized" atmosphere in Iran. In this context, Kazem Jalali, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, stated: "Mr. Ahmadinejad has made all his efforts in the past towards polarization and created many unproductive events and tensions, all of which were the result of his past actions." Before the official report was released, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Secretary-General of the Islamic Engineers Society, also reported Khamenei's opposition to Ahmadinejad's candidacy but mentioned that this news was not supposed to be highlighted. This action led to protests from some of Ahmadinejad's close associates, with some figures criticizing Bahonar for being "responsible for publishing" matters related to the Iranian leader, and the office of Ayatollah Khamenei should clarify this issue. On the same day, Khamenei also pointed out that his remarks should not "cause discord [where] one says someone said, another says they didn't, one asks why it wasn't said over the loudspeaker? Well, now this is over the loudspeaker!" Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency reported that the news of Khamenei's opposition to Ahmadinejad's candidacy had been orally conveyed for nearly a month, and a significant portion of the revolutionary forces were somehow aware of this issue. According to this news agency, Ahmadinejad did not inform his supporters of the Supreme Leader's explicit opinion but rather "indirectly rejected this issue or acted to fuel doubts with a series of hints and words." This news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, emphasized that Ahmadinejad, in this matter, "has imposed costs on the system and the leadership with behavior similar to what he displayed in the case of Mashai, Moslehi, and his 11-day absence." In 2011, following the Supreme Leader's public opposition to the resignation of Heydar Moslehi, the then-Minister of Intelligence, Ahmadinejad did not appear in his office for 11 days, an act that conservative political figures described as "11 days of house arrest." Ahmadinejad also appointed Esfandiar Rahim Mashai as his first vice president before the end of his ninth government and before the official formation of the tenth government. At that time, the Supreme Leader had opposed Mashai's appointment in a letter that was later revealed, but Ahmadinejad did not dismiss Mashai until this letter became public, and several cabinet members' protests on this issue led him to dismiss the Ministers of Intelligence and Culture.