Rohani's Cabinet; Khamenei's Share

"The constant approach in all governments has been coordination with the leadership in selecting ministers of defense, foreign affairs, and intelligence... Regarding some ministries such as Science, Education, and Islamic Guidance, the Supreme Leader has sensitivities." This was a confirmation that this year, the official website of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic finally addressed rumors that have been circulating for years about the Supreme Leader's 'share' in the cabinet. With the beginning of the process of the parliament's vote of confidence for Rohani's nominees for the twelfth cabinet, it became clear that these discussions would not easily come to an end; especially when the President of Iran, from a podium and in a speech, contradicts himself more than once in a short span. Once he denies 'sharing the list of ministers with the leader'; but shortly after, he says he consulted with Ayatollah Khamenei, who also 'points out the country's interests.' The question is, if Mr. Khamenei has advised Mr. Rohani on what he considers 'in the interest' of the country, can one imagine that Rohani would have refused to comply? Now, if the leader's opinion has been complied with, does this not imply coordination with him? However, Rohani does not stop at this contradiction and elsewhere denies the existence of pressure on the President, only to contradict himself again moments later by saying he wanted to have three female ministers, which 'did not happen.' Is there any scenario other than the existence of pressure that can be imagined in this regard? The voices of extra-governmental forces have also resurfaced in recent days during the vote of confidence sessions for the proposed cabinet; including in the remarks of Ali Motahari addressed to Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, criticizing the structure of intelligence and security networks and the existence of parallel institutions. Alavi also directly brought the leader into the conversation, confirming once again that Khamenei plays a direct role in the intelligence structure. The question is: to what extent does this cabinet belong to Rohani and to what extent does it belong to Khamenei? In this program, the audience of Radio Farda, alongside political analyst Mehdi Mahdavi Azad, discusses the shares of Rohani and Khamenei in the government.