Rafsanjani Criticizes Ahmadinejad's Failure To Advance Privatization In Iran

Hashemi Rafsanjani, the main political rival of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has accused him of failing to advance the privatization policy in Iran, and stated that Ahmadinejad has turned Iran's economy into a completely state-based one.

Rafsanjani added, "After Ahmadinejad was elected president, [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei asked us to be patient with the economic policy... but after his three years in office, our patience has run out, in light of his lack of privatization policy.

An Iranian source told the London paper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that it is straw companies connected to the government that are actually running the Iranian economy, and added that since Ahmadinejad was elected in 2005, relations between Rafsanjani and Khamenei have cooled, and they do not meet regularly.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, August 14, 2008

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