Ayatollah Rafsanjani warns of hardliner "conspiracy"

Ayatollah Hashmeni Rafsanjani

Akabar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council announced today that from the latest comments of Ayatollah Yazdi and other information given to him, he detects a “conspiracy” afoot.

ISNA reports that Ayatollah Rafsanjani spoke for a group of Political Science professors in Qom today.

Yesterday Mohammad Yazdi accused Ayatollah Rafsanjani of insulting the Supreme Leader by calling Ayatollah Khamenei the “most advisable” individual to resolve the country’s problems.

Mohammad Yazdi is a hardliner and head of Qom’s Society of Seminary Teachers. He had repeatedly attacked Hashemi Rafsanjani regarding his stance toward the post-election events.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani claimed that they have targeted him for insisting on the “necessity of acknowledging people’s rights and defending the person of the Leadership and avoiding extremism according to my personal belief.”

He added that at a later date, he will “make a written statement to warn” Mr. Yazdi’s about his conduct within the judiciary and his stance in the leadership election committee.

The Chairman of the Expediency Council also maintained that “the structure of the Islamic system relies on Islam and capitalizes on the trust of the people. Any deviation from this could cause irreparable damage.”

In his speech on July 16, Hashemi Rafsanjani called for the release of all political prisoners, conciliation for the families of post-election victims and creation of an open political atmosphere.