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A senior member of the reformist clerical group Assembly of Combatant Clergy [Majma Rohaniyoon Mobarez] Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, warned about the increasing power of hardline cleric Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah Yazdi and his disciples, noting, “The Mesbahiyeh cult, which I have been warning about for years, is not sitting idle; this is a very dangerous and violent group that won’t show mercy to anyone, neither to the Imam, nor to ayatollah Khamenei. They are using him as a tool to reach their goals, and when they accomplish that, they would destroy the supreme leader too.”

He added, “I am certain that Mr. Mesbah Yazdi does not believe in the supreme leader. Mr. Mesbah did not believe in the Imam, and after the revolution, he was not present in the war, or in other positions to help the Imam. Why do you think he believes in ayatollah Khamenei?”

This is Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour’s third warning about the influence of the “Mesbahiyeh cult” in Iranian power structure. He had warned before in 1385 and 1387 about the gradual infiltration of Meshab Yazdi and his close disciples into sensitive power centers in Iran.

Mohtashamipour, who was himself close to revolutionary founder ayatollah Khomeini, has accused Mesbah of seeking to strip the Islamic republic from its republican core and “popular sovereignty.” Describing the Mesbahiyeh cult’s views, he said, “The Mesbahiyeh cult is extremely restrictive against women, the youth, students, journa... >>>