Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei was the closest political ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former intelligence officer. He served as head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization from 2005 to 2009, then was briefly appointed First Vice President in July 2009 before Ali Khamenei ordered his removal after just one week. Ahmadinejad instead made him Chief of Staff, a position he held until 2013.

Mashaei became the focal point of what conservative clerics labeled the 'deviant current' (جریان انحرافی) — a faction accused of promoting Iranian nationalism over Islamic identity and undermining clerical authority. His statements criticizing the Assembly of Experts and the doctrine of velayat-e faqih infuriated the religious establishment. Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi and other senior clerics publicly denounced his influence over the president.

Mashaei's daughter married Ahmadinejad's son, further cementing their personal bond. He was barred by the Guardian Council from running in the 2013 presidential election. In September 2018, a Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced him to six and a half years in prison for crimes against national security, propaganda against the state, and insulting Islamic sanctities. Associates of Mashaei, including Abbas Ghaffari, were arrested in 2011 on charges of sorcery.