The name of Mehdi Khazali has gained prominence in recent times. He is the son of ayatollah ‎Khazali, a former member of the Guardian Council who is a committed supporter of President ‎Ahmadinejad. Mehdi, however, is among Ahmadinejad's most vocal opponents. Read on for ‎this conversation.‎

Rooz: Your father, ayatollah Khazali, has a different opinion than you about former President ‎Mohammad Khatami. Also, it seems like his opinion on Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani is not the same ‎as yours. Is that not correct?‎

Mehdi Khazali (Khazali): On some issues we have different opinions, for example about ‎‎"democracy" and "political parties" and the meaning of "Velayate Faghih" ["rule of the jurist"]. ‎He is opposed to Hashemi and Khatami, but I, despite the criticism that I have against Hashemi ‎and Khatami, prefer both to the present administration.‎

Rooz: You were among a handful of people to defend Mr. Palizdar, who has been behind bars ‎for some time for revelations related to the involvement of senior clerics in corrupt economic ‎deals. How familiar are you with him?‎

Khazali: I know him as a wounded Basiji veteran [from the Iran-Iraq war]. But his background ‎is not important; what is important is what he says, which must not be responded to with prison ‎sentences. This kind of treatment (of Palizdar) creates a security blanket for violators of law, ‎whereas the correct way of handling this would have been to investigate his claims and confront ‎the violators at every level.‎

Rooz: Did he belong to the group supporting Ahmadinejad or not?‎

Khazali: Yes, he did. He was involved in Ahmadinejad's campaign for presidency and Rayehe ‎Khosh Khedmat (supporter of Ahmadinejad’s administration) as well. But now you see how Mr. ‎Ahmadinejad refuses to support him!‎

Rooz: In your opinion, why is Palizdar's trial being held behind closed doors, despite earlier ‎remarks by the judiciary's spokesperson and requests from the attorney general and the Inspector ‎General's office? ‎

Khazali: They expected to break Palizdar down in nine months and paint a remorseful picture of ‎him, with him apologizing in front of cameras. But Palizdar defended his remarks as strongly, ‎and perhaps even stronger, as he did at Hamedan University, and did not leave any room for ‎leniency. My advise to officials is not to be harsh on Palizdar, and not to do something that ‎would lead to new revelations. ‎

Rooz: You apparently defend Mr. Khatmai's candidacy. Do you think he can reform the ‎country?‎

Khazali: The only person who has the chance to gain more votes than the populist movement is ‎Khatami, although I would have preferred to vote for someone who could stand firm like myself ‎and not be afraid! ‎