Just one day after President Ahmadinejad’s harsh letter to Majlis Speaker Haddad Adel, ‎the latter responded by criticizing the “tone” and “blatant transgression” of the President ‎and censured the assertions of the chief executive. ‎

In his letter, Adel wrote that “People have more serious issue these days such as inflation ‎and rising costs, including those of housing, of which you are well aware … people ‎expect the Majlis and the government not to be confronting each other, as has happened ‎because of provocations created by an individual or a political group, neither of which ‎have the best of intentions for these two at heart, but instead to join hands to address the ‎problems of the deprived masses and find solutions for them.” Adel further wrote, “I do ‎not find the interpretations that you have used in your letter to be appropriate and ‎objection to the tone, and blatant or implied transgressions of its content,” concluding ‎that he did not intend to engage in a response to that tone and language.‎

But Adel went further and accused the President and his administration of passing on his ‎letters and communications to pro-government internet news-sites. “My actions within ‎the confines of law were not followed with media propaganda and I did not send the letter ‎that I sent to you and to the Official Register to the media and in my letter I did not use ‎the term ‘President’s refusal’ that you mention in your complaint. But this very letter ‎from the Majlis to the Official Register and from the Majlis to your office was provided ‎to news centers.” Through this letter, Adel implicitly referenced Fars news agency, ‎among the pro-government media, and called his action propagandist.‎

The other parts of the letter deal with the legal and juridical grounds for publishing the ‎laws that had been passed by the Majlis whose implementation had been withheld by the ‎government. In this regard, he mentioned article 1, 2 and 3 of the civil code which ‎provide that the laws passed by the Majlis and the results of referendum be submitted to ‎the President by following the laid down legal procedures. According to these rules, the ‎President is under the obligation of signing and issuing executive orders for the ‎provisions within 5 days of their receipt, while the Official Register has the responsibility ‎of publishing the laws within 72 hours of its receipt. “Should the President refrain from ‎signing the laws within the specified period or fail to issue the necessary executive orders ‎for them, the Official Register is still under the obligation to publish the laws within 72 ‎hours,” the law reads.‎

In his response, Adel also charged that the President had on earlier occasions too ‎refrained from issuing the required executive orders for the provisions that had been ‎passed by the Majlis and approved by the Guardians Council. He referenced some of the ‎earlier communications between himself and the President which stressed the importance ‎and need for ordering the implementation of the provisions of legislature passed by the ‎Majlis, some of which had been opposed by the President since January.‎

In conclusion Mr‏.‏‎ Adel stated that, "Just as the law creates responsibilities for the ‎President, it also imposes duties on the Majlis Speaker and Majlis members," and ‎reminded him that even though some of the laws that are passed by the legislature may ‎not be to his liking, he was still legally bound to implement them as provided by law.‎

President’s harsh letter

Haddad Adel’s statement, was a reply to the publication of President Ahmadinejad’s ‎letter in which he had accused the Speaker of Majlis of “slander” and “violating the ‎Constitution”. ‎

In his letter to Haddad-Adel which was published simultaneously on several state-owned ‎news agencies close to the administration, Ahmadinejad made some strong accusations ‎against Haddad. Condemning Haddad’s decision to order a list of approved bills to be ‎published in an official newspaper, which binds the government to implement them ‎within 15 days, Ahmadinejad wrote, “Unfortunately, this inexplicable act has created a ‎new opportunity for ill-wishers to pressure and baselessly accuse the government.” ‎

In the letter Ahmadinejad quoted Article 113 of the Constitution which designates the ‎president after the supreme leader as the country’s highest official and guardian of the ‎Constitution, and reminded the Speaker of the seventh Majlis that, except for matters ‎under the supreme leader’s supervision, the President is the country’s highest official. ‎

Ahmadinejad added, “Your decision to accuse the President of refraining from ‎implementing three approved bills is, based on the evidence provided to you, an ‎unfounded allegation against the government." Ahmadinejad in turn accused Haddad-‎Adel of breaching Article 123 of the Constitution,” adding, “Who will claim ‎responsibility for this slander and the ground that has been prepared for attacks to be ‎made against the president and how will your infraction be dealt with?” ‎

Latest conflict between Heads of Two Branches

Ahmadinejad’s harsh letter to Haddad-Adel is a delayed response to the action of the ‎head of the legislature on January 20, 2008. On that day, in an open session in the Majlis, ‎Haddad-Adel publicized a letter from Ahmadinejad in which the President openly refused ‎to implement “the Addendum to the Fourth Five-Year Economic, Social and Cultural ‎Development Plan and the 1386 Budget Bill,” writing, “Henceforth I announce the ‎administration’s opposition to this bill and consider it to be in breach of Article 75 of the ‎Constitution.” ‎

Haddad-Adel described the letter as "unprecedented" after reading it on the Majlis floor, ‎adding, “It is a new and unprecedented development for the head of the cabinet, rather ‎than the Guardian Council [which is by law in charge of determining the constitutionality ‎of bills passed by the Majlis] to write such a blunt letter to the Majlis and claim that a bill ‎passed by the Majlis is unconstitutional.” ‎

During that session, Haddad-Adel also read a letter from the supreme leader in which the ‎supreme leader had stated that “everyone must obey the law,” a response that was ‎interpreted as supporting the head of legislature’s position. ‎