With his two closest confidants behind bars, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is lashing out by writing open letters to both Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
On March 13, former Vice President Hamid Baghaei began a 15-year sentence over a corruption conviction. Shortly after, Ahmadinejad’s closest adviser, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, protested the verdict, criticized Iran’s judiciary and burned the conviction in front of the British Embassy. He was later arrested.
