Deputy Speaker of Parliament: Anyone who endorsed Ahmadinejad's progress is to blame

Masoud Pezeshkian, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, referred to what he called the 'crisis of Ahmadinejad' and labeled his former supporters as 'culprits.' In an interview published on Friday, April 10, by ILNA news agency, he implicitly described the arrest of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, as controversial, stating: 'We praised him and said no one like him has come and he is the representative of the Imam of the Time... Now, if we take this person and throw him in jail, will there be no problem? Will people not say how could you not recognize this person?' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, besides his support for Ahmadinejad's two administrations, stated in the first Friday prayer after the 2009 presidential election: 'The president's opinion is closer to mine.' In recent months, as Ahmadinejad's attacks on the judiciary have intensified, leading to the arrest of two of his close associates, Hamid Bakai and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, several political figures have speculated about the possibility of his own arrest. However, Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized that Ahmadinejad's 'traits and characteristics have not changed; he only used to criticize Hashemi and Nategh, and now he has objections to others.' According to the Deputy Speaker, when Ahmadinejad attacked Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, 'because some liked this approach of Ahmadinejad, they said he is a good person.' Masoud Pezeshkian labeled those who supported Ahmadinejad over the years as 'culprits' and stated that during those years, they did not ask him for evidence regarding the accusations he made against others. Throughout his eight years in presidency, Ahmadinejad always spoke of a list of 'big shots' but never revealed it. Pezeshkian questioned why and by what right Ahmadinejad could keep the files and reasons for his claims to himself. 'If someone has engaged in rent-seeking, taken bribes, or committed any form of violation, why has he remained in the arena and not faced judicial action?' the Deputy Speaker responded to the question of whether there is a possibility of judicial action against Ahmadinejad, saying: 'In any case, if they act, it is a problem, and if they do not act, a worse problem will arise.' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, stated in March 2018 that this authority would address Ahmadinejad's case 'at the appropriate time.' Previously, the head of the Court of Audit stated that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has seven definitive and enforceable rulings against him in this court. Fayyaz Shajai mentioned in August 2017 regarding Ahmadinejad's cases that 'a total of seven cases have been formed. Five are oil-related, and two are non-oil-related, all of which have led to definitive rulings... In any case, the volume of these violations is very large. Ahmadinejad will never acquire as much as seven thousand billion tomans to be seized and returned to the treasury. Therefore, perhaps there is no possibility of executing the ruling. In any case, some issues have no grounds for execution.' In his recent letter to the Supreme Leader, Ahmadinejad called for 'the immediate change of the head of the judiciary,' 'the immediate and free holding of presidential elections and Islamic Council sessions... without the engineering of the Guardian Council and the interference of military and security institutions.' Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, Ahmadinejad's deputy and advisor, also burned Bakai's ruling in front of the British embassy before his arrest and described the judiciary as a tool of London. He explicitly stated that the actions against Bakai and Ahmadinejad's associates were at the order and recommendation of Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary. The Deputy Speaker acknowledged that many of Ahmadinejad's statements reflect 'the voice of the people' and said: 'As a result, if action is taken, people will say that since Ahmadinejad spoke our words, he has been taken.'