An official from an important clerical body in Iran has publicly discussed some major differences between two of the most powerful clerics in Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani], in reality, has fundamental differences on some issues with Imam [late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] and also Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei],” said Hojat al-Islam Abulghassem Alizadeh, political deputy head for the Council for Policy of Friday Prayer Leaders. The council is a powerful body that operates under purview of the supreme leader’s office. It designates Friday prayer leaders across the country and disseminates key points for Friday sermons.

It is well known that Rafsanjani and Khamenei have differing views with respect to the political direction of the country. Rafsanjani has been incessantly attacked by hard-liners for the last decade for his political positions. However, since the elections that brought President Hassan Rouhani to power, Rafsanjani has become more outspoken. In his interview with Nasim Online, Alizadeh criticized Rafsanjani’s positions, at times explicitly stating that they stand in stark contrast to Khamenei’s and at others implying that the two stances are opposed.

Alizadeh said that despite being head of the Expediency Council, a body that is meant to settle differences between the different branches of government, Rafsanjani “does not observe national unity” and “does not consider national interests.”