Mojtaba Zolnoor, the Iranian Supreme Leader’s adviser in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), has denounced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s allegations against the Guards and accused the president of distorting the image of the IRGC.
Zolnoor told the Mehr news agency: “In the elections of the Medical Council, some have spread slander against the Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence, while the IRGC, like the security forces, is one of offices of the judiciary and has carried out its duties in the council’s elections.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced the disqualification of a number of candidates in the Medical Council elections and charged that the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence has no business interfering in the elections.
The sixth round of elections for Iran’s Medical Council was held in February. Reports indicate that many candidates were disqualified from running.
Zolnoor stated: “Before each election, the Guardian or Medical councils might ask various bodies to look into the eligibility criteria of candidates and make sure no security issues are at stake; this time they had asked the IRGC to carry out the inquiries and now they are trying to create bad publicity against the Guards for doing their duty.”
Zolnoor accused Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of trying to create deviations in the elections and attacking “true supporters of the leader.”
Many members of the Iranian establishment claim that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is trying to install his supporters in various capacities in the system in order to retain his influence in the government after the end of his presidency. In the last years of his presidency, Ahmadinejad has gotten into a number of disputes with the Supreme Leader and other heads of government, making the latter, reportedly, count the days to the end of the Ahmadinejad term.
