Pro-Ahmadinejad figures nominated for Azad University presidency

The disputes over the leadership of Iran’s Azad University in the Islamic Republic continues as its new board member, Farhad Daneshjoo announced three former Ahmadinejad cabinet ministers are nominated for the position of the university president.

Farhad Daneshjoo, one of the new five board members told Mehr News Agency the new president will be appointed within three weeks.

In the new guidelines ratified by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, the opposition leader, MirHosein Mousavi was omitted from the board.

The Azad University has long been associated with the reformist camp and its board members included prominent reformist figures like Ayatollah Rafsanjani and Abdollah Jasbi.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been trying to take control of the Azad University with a series of actions starting with changing its board members.

Keyhan state newspaper reported that MirHosein Mousavi was present at the board meeting of the university last week.

Keyhan writes: “Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Assembly of Experts has said that the actions of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution were illegal and therefore, he had invited MirHosein Mousavi to the meeting."

The new regulations were ratified by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution last May and was put to action..

The board members claim the new regulations have several “religious and legal problems.”

Last week a court decision announced that the new guidelines should not be implemented yet. A day after the court decision, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejei, Chief Prosecutor-General requested the Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Larijani to review the decision.

Ayatollah Larijani has in turn heeded The Chief Prosecutor-General’s request and initiated a review of the case.

The Open University is Iran’s private university and has 357 branches in Iran, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Britain, Tanzanian and Armenia with over 1.5 million students.