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Hamid Ahadi

The show that began on the eve of the third UN Security Council resolution against Iran ‎with a meeting between the chairman of the Experts Assembly ayatollah Hashemi ‎Rafsanjani and President Ahmadinejad, which took place on advise from no other than ‎the leader of the Islamic Republic, culminated in ayatollah Khamenei’s participation at ‎the nuclear propaganda celebrations of the government, in which he applauded the ‎President in front of his opponents.‎

In the first step of this show, the Experts Assembly for the Leadership chaired by ‎ayatollah Rafsanjani invited President Ahmadinejad for the celebrations. At the ‎gathering, instead of reporting on the work of his administration, President Ahmadinejad ‎lectured the clergy and, while speaking from a written note – a departure from his usual ‎verbatim speeches – declared that the duty of the government of the Islamic Republic was ‎to “advance the re-appearance of the Shiite 12th Imam” (considered to be in occultation), ‎‎“and nothing else.”‎

The second part of this show began when the state run Keyhan daily published this ‎headline on Tuesday: “Hashemi Rafsanjani, the guest of Ahmadinejad.” According to ‎this ultra-conservative newspaper, “This gathering, which was the first of its kind, was ‎the product of the political centers of the regime and on the wise advice of the revered ‎leader with the purpose of not allowing minor grievances to create distance and ‎divisions.”‎

At the final part of this show which took place on Wednesday, members of the Experts ‎Assembly went to a banquet given by the leader of the Islamic Republic where the latter ‎also responded to a letter he had received 4 days earlier from President Ahmadinejad in ‎which he had congratulated the nation and leader for its nuclear victory.‎

At the gathering, ayatollah Khamenei expressed his happiness over the nation’s “great ‎victory” in the nuclear dispute and praised President Ahmadinejad for his “clear” ‎management. With this event, ayatollah Khamenei participated in an event that is largely ‎viewed by experts to be only a public relations and propaganda exercise for domestic ‎purposes. Ayatollah Khamenei, who was flanked by ayatollahs Rafsanjani and Rowhani, ‎both of whom have been the target of attacks and discredits by President Ahmadinejad ‎and his aides during the past two and a half years, said, “One example of the progress of ‎the Islamic Republic is the nuclear issue which has clearly and in all fairness attained a ‎great success and notable progress.” And in another pointed message, Khamenei said that ‎the seventh Majlis (i.e. the current Majlis), “contrary to the efforts of some during earlier ‎terms, really persevered on the nuclear issue.”‎

Experts believe ayatollah Khamenei’s message to the members of the Experts Assembly, ‎whose responsibility is to confirm Iran’s leader and monitor his work, is clear. He ‎showed his abhorrence for reformers, while also making it clear that the rigidity of the ‎Guardians Council in the recent massive disqualification of reformist candidates to the ‎March 14 Majlis elections did not take place without his approval and support.‎