Iranian derogatory political term for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's entourage
The "
deviant current
" or "
current of deviation
" (
Persian
:
????? ???????
,
romanized
:
Jar??n-e Enher?f?
) is a term used by Iranian officials (e.g. high-ranking clerics,
Revolutionary Guards
commanders)
[1]
and
conservative
rivals
[1]
of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
to describe Ahmadinejad's entourage,
[2]
which functions like a
faction
[3]
or
party
.
[4]
Ahmadinejad had some tendency toward
Iranian nationalism
that deviated from the clerics' theocratic rule, hence top clerics labeled the faction associated with him as "deviant current".
[5]
The term was coined in 2011, after an open conflict between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme leader
Ali Khamenei
.
[6]
[7]
People
[
edit
]
People who have been described as associated with the "deviant current" include:
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
[8]
- Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei
, described as the leader of the movement
[8]
- Hamid Baghaei
[9]
- Mohammad Reza Rahimi
[10]
- Ali Nikzad
[11]
- Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi
[12]
- Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh
[13]
- Mohammad Aliabadi
[14]
- Ali Akbar Javanfekr
[15]
- Abdolreza Davari, senior media figure in presidential administration
[16]
- Habibollah Joz-e-Khorasani, financial affairs director of the presidential administration
[17]
- Abbas Amirifar
, cleric,
[18]
head of the cultural committee of presidential administration
[13]
- Kazem Kiapasha, presidential aide
[13]
- Bahman Sharifzadeh, cleric
[16]
- Abbas Ghaffari, allegedly Ahmadinejad's personal
exorcist
[18]
- Ali Asghar Parhizkar, executive director of the
Arvand Free Zone
[19]
- Alireza Moghimi, executive director of the
Aras Free Zone
[19]
- Parivash Satvati, widow of
Hossein Fatemi
[20]
Ideology
[
edit
]
The faction is described as "
nationalist conservative
" by
Stratfor
;
[21]
also described as "neo-conservative nationalists" by Pejman Abdolmohammadi, assistant professor in Middle Eastern studies at
University of Trento
and Giampiero Cama, professor of
comparative politics
at
University of Genova
.
[22]
According to Bernd Kaussler, assistant professor of political science at
James Madison University
, their ideology is a combination of
millenarian
,
nationalist
,
populist
and the
principlist
rhetoric.
[9]
The tendency tries to nationalize
Shiite
Islamism
, and advocates an “Iranian School of Islam” that seems antagonistic toward the
Velayat Faqih
, an idea that formed the basis of the current establishment in Iran.
[9]
Ahmadinejad and his associates have regularly used the word "spring" and the phrase "Long live the spring" as a slogan, which is believed to have connotations for the
Arab Spring
, although Ahmadinejad claims it refers to the
reappearance
of
Imam Mahdi
.
[23]
Organization
[
edit
]
A group is active under the acronym HOMA (standing for
Havadarn-e Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
in Persian, meaning "Supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad") and published an online newspaper with the same name. The
public relations
team organizes various websites, including
Dolat-e Bahar
(
lit.
'
Government of Spring
'
),
Rais Jomhur-e ma
(
lit.
'
Our President
'
) and
Meydan-e Haftadodo
(
lit.
'
Square 72
'
, named after the neighborhood Ahmadinejad lives in) among others. They maintain online activity elsewhere, running many blogs and social media accounts.
[24]
[25]
Electoral performance
[
edit
]
2012
[
edit
]
Monotheism and Justice Front
, a group that endorsed a list of candidates for
2012 parliamentary elections
is reportedly linked to Mashaei.
[26]
The results showed a major defeat for them in the elections,
[21]
and they only won 9 seats, according to
Deutsche Welle
.
[27]
2013
[
edit
]
In a
Medvedev/Putin-style scenario
, Mashaei ran for president in
2013 presidential election
backed by Ahmadinejad, who said "Mashaei means Ahmadinejad and Ahmadinejad means Mashaei".
[28]
He was disqualified by the
Guardian Council
.
2013 local elections
were the next defeat. The faction were unable to secure a seat in
Tehran City Council
and even
Parvin
, Ahmadinejad's sister was unseated.
[29]
2017
[
edit
]
In
2017 presidential election
, Ahmdinejad who backed
Hamid Baghaei
, registered as a candidate along with him,
[30]
but both were disqualified.
[31]
2020
[
edit
]
Candidates associated with the circle ran on a list for
2020 parliamentary elections
, although Ahmadinejad himself did not support any specific list.
[32]
Middle East Research and Information Project
stated that they won 14 seats in the first round of elections.
[33]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Elling, Ramus Christian (2012). "Matters of Authenticity". In Nabavi, Negin (ed.).
Iran: From Theocracy to the Green Movement
. Springer. p. 94.
ISBN
9780230114692
.
- ^
Golnaz Esfandiari (19 May 2011),
"Decoding Iran's Official Political Glossary"
,
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: the deviant president"
,
The Guardian
(Editorial), 20 September 2011
, retrieved
15 August
2017
,
This year, if Ahmadinejad represents any faction in Iran it is one that has been branded "a deviant current".
- ^
Abdollah Almasi (29 April 2013),
"Ahmadinejad's Plans for the Presidential Election"
,
Iran's View
, retrieved
15 August
2017
,
The Government's critics believe that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaee who is the head of a party, which they label as "Deviant Current".
- ^
Torbat, Akbar E. (2020).
Politics of Oil and Nuclear Technology in Iran
. Cham, Switzerland:
Palgrave Macmillan
. pp. 258?259.
ISBN
978-3-030-33765-0
.
- ^
Alem, Yasmin (2016). "Electoral Politics, Power, and Prospects for Reform". In Brumberg, Daniel; Farhi, Farideh (eds.).
Power and Change in Iran: Politics of Contention and Conciliation
. Indiana Series in Middle East Studies. Indiana University Press. p. 177.
ISBN
9780253020796
.
- ^
Ehteshami, Anoushiravan (2017). "Politics of the Islamic Republic".
Iran: Stuck in Transition
. The Contemporary Middle East. Taylor & Francis. p. 90.
ISBN
9781351985451
.
- ^
a
b
Oliver Borszik (November 2014),
"Papers International Sanctions against Iran under President Ahmadinejad: Explaining Regime Persistence"
(PDF)
,
GIGA Working Papers
(260), Hamburg: German Institute of Global and Area Studies, archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2015-05-12
, retrieved
2017-08-22
- ^
a
b
c
Bernd Kaussler (January 2012),
"Is the End Nigh for the Islamic Republic?"
,
Current Trends in Islamist Ideology
(13), Washington, D.C.: 69?90
- ^
"Mohammad Reza Rahimi: The story behind the current Iranian President's First Deputy"
,
Iranian Diplomacy
, 27 August 2012
, retrieved
17 August
2017
- ^
"Ahmadinejad minister announces run for presidency"
,
Radio Zamaneh
, 31 March 2013
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
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"The Great Debate: Is it Ahmadinejad's last hurrah?"
,
Reuters
, archived from
the original
on 5 October 2012
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
a
b
c
Saeed Kamali Dehghan (23 June 2011),
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ally arrested in Iran on corruption charges"
,
The Guardian
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
Scott Lucas (24 June 2011),
"The Latest from Iran (24 June): The Net Closes on Ahmadinejad's Men....Continued"
,
Enduring America
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
Marcus George (26 September 2012), Stephen Powell (ed.),
"Ahmadinejad's aide in prison as Iran president addresses U.N."
,
Reuters
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
a
b
Marcus George (4 June 2014), Stephen Powell (ed.),
"Is Ahmadinejad plotting a comeback?"
,
Al-Monitor
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
Marcus George (17 November 2017), Stephen Powell (ed.),
"Ahmadinejad Returns With Vengeance"
,
Iran Wire
, retrieved
15 April
2018
- ^
a
b
"Ahmadinejad faces threat to presidency in clash with Khamenei"
,
Radio France Internationale
, 7 October 2012
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
a
b
"Ahmadinejad warns establishment against extending arrests to cabinet"
,
Radio Zamaneh
, 29 June 2012
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
"Iran: A conflict over authority, or a dispute over responsibilities?"
(PDF)
,
Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies
(Assessment Report), Doha, May 2011
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
a
b
"Iran: Implications of Ahmadinejad's Parliamentary Defeat"
,
Stratfor
(Assessment), 5 May 2012
, retrieved
2 July
2017
- ^
Abdolmohammadi, Pejman; Cama, Giampiero (2020).
Contemporary Domestic and Foreign Policies of Iran
. Cham, Switzerland:
Palgrave Macmillan
. pp. 137?138.
ISBN
978-3-030-45335-0
.
- ^
Saeed Kamali Dehghan (13 March 2013),
"Ahmadinejad's new pet phrase 'spring' infuriates Iranian establishment"
,
The Guardian
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
Arash Azizi (5 November 2014),
"Is Ahmadinejad making a comeback?"
,
Al-Monitor
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
Meir Javedanfar (20 April 2014),
"Ahmadinejad's return may be boost for Rouhani"
,
Al-Monitor
, retrieved
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2017
- ^
Abdol Moghset Bani Kamal (2013),
"The ninth Majlis elections in Iran: Electoral laws, procedures and institutions"
,
Intellectual Discourse
,
21
(1), International Islamic University of Malaysia: 71?86,
ISSN
0128-4878
- ^
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,
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(in Persian), 3 March 2012
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
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"Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to stand in Iran presidential election"
,
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, retrieved
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2017
- ^
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.
Asharq Al Awsat
. 20 June 2013. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2016
. Retrieved
1 April
2017
.
- ^
"Ahmadinejad formally endorses protege for president"
,
Tehran Times
, 21 March 2017
, retrieved
15 August
2017
- ^
"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 'disqualified' from Iran elections"
.
Al Jazeera
. 20 April 2017
. Retrieved
20 April
2017
.
- ^
"Iran Parliamentary Election Explained: who is Competing, why Does it Matter?"
.
Radio Zamaneh
. 17 February 2020
. Retrieved
17 February
2020
.
- ^
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"The Making of a "Resistance Parliament" in Iran and the Challenges Ahead"
,
Middle East Report Online
, retrieved
5 March
2020
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