Ahamdinejad rebuked over his chief of staff

Iranian parliament

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given a written warning by 16 Members of Parliament to take a stance against the “inappropriate” statements of his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai.

Iranian media also report that the MPs have demanded that Rahim Mashai withdraws his recent controversial statements.

In the meantime, a senior member of the clergy, Ayatollah Makarrem Shirazi also called on Ahmadinejad to “silence” his chief of staff.

The conservative faction of the parliament is also in the process of making a complaint, which has reportedly been already signed by 100 MPs, against Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff, Mehr news agency reported.

The controversy rose after Esfandiar Rahim Mashai told a meeting of Iranians living abroad: “There is a variety of understandings of Islam, but ours is the Iranian truth of Islam and we must promote and introduce this Iranian school of thought to the world.”

This separation of Iran and Islam has been condemned by numerous Iranian hardliners.

Even the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Hassan Firozabadi condemned Mashai’s statements as “a crime against national security and an attack on the principles of the regime” and went on to call for his prosecution.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has remained defiant against all these warnings and dismissed the complaints against his chief of staff.