Ali Ardeshir Larijani is an Iranian moderate politician, philosopher and former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who served as the Speaker of the Parliament of Iran from 2008 to 2020. He has been a member of the Expediency Discernment Council since 2020, having previously served from 1997 to 2008. Larijani is a candidate for president of Iran in the 2024 presidential election. He previously ran in 2005, but was disqualified from running in 2021.
Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi is an Iranian politician who was minister of culture and Islamic guidance of Iran from 21 August 2005 until 23 July 2009 when he resigned after opposing the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei as vice president. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i is an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran.
Mohammad Reza Rahimi is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth first vice president from 13 September 2009 until 3 August 2013. His previous posts included governor of the Kurdistan province and vice president for parliamentary affairs.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. He was known for his hardline views and nuclearisation of Iran. He was also the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country, and served as mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005, reversing many of his predecessor's reforms.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer. As a senior Cabinet member in the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he served as Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2013, and served as the fourth first vice president of Iran for one week in 2009 until his resignation was ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi is an Iranian university professor and former parliamentarian, who was Iran's minister of health and medical education. She was part of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's inner circle.
The Cabinet of Iran is a formal body composed of government officials, ministers, chosen and led by the President of Iran. Its composition must be approved by a vote in parliament. According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a president may dismiss members of the cabinet, but must do so in writing, and new appointees must again be approved by parliament. The cabinet meets weekly on Saturdays in Tehran. There may be additional meetings as circumstances require. The president chairs them. The Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei has the power to dismiss cabinet members like ministers, vice presidents and presidents at any time, regardless of parliamentary decisions.(citation needed)
Heydar Moslehi is an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the minister of intelligence from 2009 to 2013.
Sayyid Masoud Mir Kazemi is an Iranian conservative politician and the former Vice President of Iran and head of Plan and Budget Organization. He was a member of the Parliament of Iran from Tehran district from 2012 until 2016, and also previously served at two ministerial posts in the cabinet of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad consists of the 9th and 10th governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ahmadinejad's government began in August 2005 after his election as the 6th president of Iran and continued after his re-election in 2009. Ahmadinejad left office in August 2013 at the end of his second term. His administration was succeeded by the 11th government, led by Hassan Rouhani.
Ali Nikzad is an Iranian conservative politician and a member of Iranian parliament. He is an academic and a former cabinet minister.
Hamid Baghaei is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer who is considered one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's closest confidants. He first entered the administration in 2006 as deputy of Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei in the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization. In 2011, he simultaneously held the position of vice president in charge of executive affairs and supervised the presidential administration.
Abdolreza Sheykholeslami is an Iranian politician who is the former Minister of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare. Before that, he was the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in the second cabinet of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from 2009 to 2011. He was dismissed from office on 3 February 2013, being the ninth minister to be fired during the second term of president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad since 2009.
Mohammad Hosseini is an Iranian politician, who served as the vice president for parliamentary affairs in the cabinet of Ebrahim Raisi from 2021 to 2024. He was Advisor to the President of Iran for Cultural and Social Affairs in 2024.
Mohammad Saeedikia is an Iranian politician who was the former head of Mostazafan Foundation, from 2014 to 2019. He served as a government minister in different cabinets last of which was minister of housing and urban development from 2005 to 2009.
Ali Saeedlou is an Iranian politician who was the Head of Physical Education Organization from 2009 to 2011. Before that, he was Deputy Mayor of Tehran from 2003 to 2005 under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and had served as his interim successor until the election of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as new mayor.
The Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude, the Sweet Scent of Servitude or the Joyful Essence of Obedience was a conservative political group in Iran that supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government.
The "deviant current" or "current of deviation" is a term used by Iranian officials and conservative rivals of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to describe Ahmadinejad's entourage, which functions like a faction or party. Ahmadinejad had some tendency toward Iranian nationalism that deviated from the clerics' theocratic rule, hence top clerics labeled the faction associated with him as "deviant current".
