Ahmadinejad’s top aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei who his candidacy for presidential election denied by Iran’s Guardian Council says he will ask the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei to help him back in the presidential race.
“I think my disqualification is injustice and I will follow-up with the supreme leader to solve this,” Mashaei said in an interview with Fars news agency.
Mahaei’s campaign also issued a statement on his disqualification asking Ayatollah Khamenei to “prevent violation of the nation’s principal rights.”
“We also ask the president Ahamadinejad to use his position to fix any possible violation over this issue,” the statement read.
Mashaei’s chance of being disqualified by the Guardian Council was very high due to his non-Islamic remarks.
He also made controversial statements about “the end of the Islamic Era”. “The Islamic Era is over; we began the revolution in 1979 to promote our ideas to other countries, but I should say that the Islamic Era is over; this doesn’t mean that clinging to Islamic ideas will vanish, but the Era is over. Like the Era of horse riding is over, but we still have horses and horse riding and the Era of cars will come to an end, but there will still be cars and driving.” He said.
Mashaee was accused in 2011 to be part of a big banking embezzlement. One of the main suspects confessed to his hidden meeting with Mashaee. Thus far neither Mashaee, nor the administration has commented on the matter.
