Following the publication of reports in Iranian media about disagreements between the ‎former head of the National Security Council Ali Larijani and President Mahmoud ‎Ahmadinejad, the National Security Council issued a warning prohibiting the press from ‎publishing any such material. ‎

According to a Rooz reporter, Ali Reza Malekian, deputy minister of Culture and Islamic ‎Guidance, sent a memo last week to the editors of Iranian newspapers and news agencies ‎reminding them of the latest “suggestion by the Supreme National Security Council.” ‎

The memo released by Malekian states, “Following the resignation of Mr. Ali Larijani as ‎secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the appointment of Mr. Jalili to ‎that post, a majority of Western and anti-revolutionary media outlets began a massive ‎psychological and propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and ‎portrayed this change as having stemmed from disagreements among the country’s high ‎officials.” ‎

The statement also warns Iranian publications and news agencies: “In the current ‎situation, you must seriously refrain from publishing any material that may weaken the ‎Supreme National Security Council or that may suggest there are disagreements over the ‎nuclear issue.”‎

The memo then orders Iranian publications and news agencies to “portray the Rome ‎conference, which is attended by both Mr. Larijani and Mr. Jalili, as a symbol of unity ‎among Islamic Republic officials in pursuing peaceful nuclear goals.” ‎

Previously, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, deputy speaker of the Majlis and former head of ‎Ali Larijani’s presidential campaign during the 2005 presidential race, announced, ‎‎“Ahmadinejad and Larijani had reached a dead-end, and their cooperation was not ‎possible any longer.” Ali Akbar Valayati, the supreme leader’s advisor in foreign affairs, ‎criticized Larijani’s resignation and said he wished that officials would be more patient at ‎these times. ‎

Meanwhile, some political analysts in Tehran believe that Larijani’s supporters insist on ‎publicizing Larijani’s disagreement with Ahmadinejad, so that the responsibility of future ‎failures falls squarely on the President’s shoulders. According to these analysts, the ‎insistence of people like Bahonar, Roodaki and Tavakkoli – both close to Larijani - to ‎publicize the differences between Ahmadinejad and Larijani shows that the former head ‎of the National Security Council intends to publicly distance himself from Ahmadinejad. ‎

On the other hand, the President’s supporters are angry that disagreements between ‎Larijani and Ahmadinejad have become public. A spokesperson for the administration ‎told reporters that Larijani had resigned for “personal problems.” ‎