Hardline cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the head of the Society of Qom Seminary Teachers, took aim at Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani for the latter's ambiguous political position. Yazdi criticized Rafsanjani for a multitude of offenses, including his implicit support for the protest movement, his lack of support for the current president, and for his inherent disagreements with the Supreme Leader. At the core of Yazdi's castigation is the notion that Rafsanjani cannot, in good conscience, speak ill of a system of which he remains an active part. Yazdi further threatens Rafsanjani with total marginalization, by musing "we do not want what happened to [Ayatollah] Montazeri to happen to you." In other words, Yazdi is suggesting that the regime may move to isolate Rafsanjani and remove him from his official appointments if the latter does not side with the Supreme Leader in the election dispute. I do not foresee this happening, at least not anytime soon, but for Yazdi to publicly threaten Rafsanjani in such a way is a tad surprising. As if comparing Rafsanjani to Montazeri was not enough, Yazdi proclaims at the end of the article that he and the regime loyalists would follow Khamenei to hell, "but we will not come with you," adding: "And we're not ta'arofing" (i.e. don't take this as hyperbole).
[Image: Hardline cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi]
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