The Iranian daily Jomhouri-e Eslami, which supports Hashemi Rafsanjani, has called on Ayatollah Mesbah-e Yazdi to retract statements he made in which he said that after a president' is nominated by the Supreme Leader, obeying him is like obeying Allah (see Iranian Ayatollah: Obeying Ahmadinejad Is Like Obeying Allah).

The paper warned that such statements could lead to dictatorship.

It also pointed out that the statements contradict Yazdi's firm opposition to former president Mohammad Khatami during his term, and his opposition to Ahmadinejad's appointment of his father-in-law Esfandiar Rahim Mashaii as his senior vice president.

Source: Jomhouri-e Eslami, Iran, August 15, 2009