Twenty months after the passing of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Moderation camp — which the former two-time president symbolized — is being undermined by his protege: Hassan Rouhani.

Although it officially came into being with Rouhani’s first presidential campaign in 2013 — choosing "Moderation" as his electoral slogan — it was actually founded by Rafsanjani, who passed away in January 2017.

Iran’s conservatives were largely unified until 2005 when then-Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to try his luck in the presidential elections. His candidacy was announced concurrently with the emergence of several hard-line groups within the camp that had played a significant role in the 2003 city and village council elections, which handed Ahmadinejad the mayorship. Amid his presidential bid, other conservative candidates also went their own way — even as the conservatives’ electoral committee had opted to throw its weight behind Ali Larijani, who presently serves as parliament speaker. This was a turning point as then-candidate Rafsanjani ended up seeing many of his associates support Ahmadinejad, whom he lost to in a presidential runoff.

What should not be neglected here is the fact that the disagreement between the conservatives and Rafsanjani dates back to the latter’s presidency (1989-1997). This gap was gradually widened over the years, reaching its climax in 2005 when the conservative camp and senior clerics stood behind Ahmadinejad.