Ahmadinejad fires controversial aide

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed his chief of staff on Saturday, sidelining a controversial figure who is seen as a possible future presidential contender.Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie, a target for Ahmadinejad’s detractors within the conservative ruling elite, has survived many calls to be sacked and had enjoyed the confidence of the president, to whom he is related by the marriage of their children.While Mashaie retains several other governmental posts, his position as chief of staff has been taken by another close Ahmadinejad aide, Hamid Baqaie, the official IRNA news agency reported.Mashaie has angered hard-liners by suggesting Iran was a friend to all nations, including the people of Israel, and by promoting an “Iranian” school of Islam, which many religious conservatives consider highly controversial.Although a behind-the-scenes player in Iranian politics, Mashaie regularly makes headlines, with speculation growing recently about a possible run for the presidency in 2013 when Ahmadinejad’s second and final term ends.As recently as Saturday one newspaper was still reporting on a controversy from the summer of 2009 when Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asked the newly re-elected Ahmadinejad to sack Mashaie from the post of first vice president. Ahmadinejad eventually did so, only to appoint him chief of staff.Instead of heeding calls last year from conservatives to fire Mashaie for what some called his “pagan nationalism,” Ahmadinejad gave him an additional high-profile role as his foreign policy adviser for the Middle East — a move which was also seen as an attempt by the president to subvert the Foreign Ministry.But Saturday’s reshuffle dealt a blow to Mashaie’s image as an untouchable power behind the president.“Mashaie is a figure who has many opponents in the political establishment and it may be that the president feels that instead of him being an asset he is becoming a liability,” said Mohammad Marandi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran.