Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric, has entered a new phase in his confrontation with hard-line clergymen over a number of issues after the recent unrest across the country.
On Jan. 13, Tehran Friday prayer leader Kazem Sedighi, a hard-liner, reacted to the protests, saying, “The nation’s gathering [against the unrest] turned into a sea and cleaned the rubbish.” This description of the protesters as rubbish led to a series of criticisms from moderate and Reformist figures and consequently the president.