Supreme Leader: Support Ahmadinejad

Morteza Sadeghi, Rooz Online:

Members of the Jame-e Moddaresin Hoze Elmie Qom (Teachers Association of Qom Seminary) met with the leader of the Islamic regime for the first time after Ahmadinejad’s presidential victory. In this meeting, they requested the leader to support and defend Hashemi Rafsanjani against the negative propaganda over him. The leader on the other hand, while acknowledging his close ties to Rafsanjani, said that the most important call of the day was to support president Ahmadinejad and the government, and that he expected the same from the Association. The leaders call was similar to the one he made when he recently met with the Jame-e Rohaniyat Mobarez (Association of Combatant Clergy). READ MORE

The Teachers Association members also complained about the delay in seeing the leader and requested scheduled meetings with him. They were told that Messers Nategh Nouri, Pour Mohammadi and Ahmad Khatami do hold regular and scheduled meetings ayatollah Khamenei, adding that they should be informed of important issues which needed to be passed on to the leader.

After the meeting, Reza Ostadi, a senior member of the Teachers Association said, “He had never heard the leader use such harsh language against the Association.” Even a day after this meeting, Ostadi spoke of the destructive propaganda and events of the government against Hashemi Rafsanjani to a group of clerics.

It should be noted that a week after this meeting, Reza Ostadi has been appointed as Tehran’s Friday prayer leader. Ayatollah Meshkini, the former prayer leader has been suffering with serious health issues. In an effort to end the criticism that the powerful Teachers Association has been privately and publicly raising about the government, president Ahmadinejad appointed his minister of the interior to meet with their members. But in that meeting too the teachers raised strong objections to the government’s policies, after which administration members began their attacks on the Teachers Association of Qom Seminary.