Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi are two of the most prominent faces in Iranian politics. The former directs the moderation camp, while the latter is the godfather of the hard-liners. President Hassan Rouhani has been a longtime companion of Rafsanjani, while Mesbah Yazdi supported hard-line former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in the 2013 presidential vote and his past proteges include former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In the latest salvo in this long-running rivalry, Rafsanjani caused a ruckus earlier this month when he indirectly accused Mesbah Yazdi of being an enemy of the state. Without actually naming his nemesis, Rafsanjani said Dec. 3 that “some enemies of the Imam," meaning Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, "have infiltrated the sensitive centers [of power] under the guise of friendship.”

The confrontation between Rafsanjani and Mesbah Yazdi made the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections in February especially heated. Rafsanjani’s maneuvering produced a victory for the joint moderate-Reformist ticket, and Mesbah Yazdi was voted out of the Assembly of Experts, which is tasked with overseeing the performance of the supreme leader and also elects his successor.

The root of this dispute, which has played such a powerful role in Iranian politics, can be understood by studying the remarks and memoirs of the two men.