TEHRAN, Iran — Conditions seem to be moving toward the smooth re-election of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani after one of his main rivals, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced that he will not be running in the May 2017 vote. But will the Reformists, who were Rouhani’s key supporters and the reason for his victory in the 2013 election, continue backing him? It appears as if the situation has not turned out the way the Reformists envisaged and that there is some dissatisfaction with Rouhani’s performance within their camp.

Reformist politician and member of parliament Mohammad Reza Aref, who quit the 2013 presidential race at the last minute to allow for a Reformist consensus around Rouhani, is one of the people who does not have a favorable view of the president. Aref, the head of the Reformist-moderate “List of Hope” for the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, has continuously refrained from voicing his outright support for Rouhani in the upcoming presidential vote.

In an Aug. 13 interview with the Young Journalists Club, Aref — who served as first vice president during former Reformist President Mohammad Khatami’s second term (2001-2005) — was asked to comment on whether Rouhani is the Reformists only potential candidate in the May 2017 vote. He responded, “Whatever comment I make in this regard will be viewed as personal since the final decision on the Reformists’ presence at the polls has not been made yet. The cohesion of the Reformist camp is paramount to us. Therefore, we will discuss this after the [Reformists’] type of presence [in the next presidential election] has been decided on.”

Aref’s comments may stem from his personal discontent with Rouhani for not appointing him as his first vice president after being elected president, and later for not supporting his bid to become parliament speaker. Although Rouhani never made a direct or official statement about Aref’s decision to run for speaker, the president’s advisers and deputies supported Aref’s main rival, incumbent Principlist Ali Larijani.