A senior Iranian cleric has criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei as Vice President.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, a Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said on Saturday that Ahmadinejad should reconsider the decision of Mashaei appointment amid a widespread criticism by Principlist supporters and the clergy.

Mashaei, whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad's son, is a controversial figure. He was previously the head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, and a deputy to the president.

“Given the sensitivities that are known to the president, I could not believe that this appointment would take place,” said Khatami, who sits on the Assembly of Experts and is a senior member of the Society of the Tutors of the Qom Seminary.

“However, unbelievably, this news was announced in the media… It seems that this appointment will create challenges for the government.”

Khatami added that Ahmadinejad had shown “a twisted face to clerics and elites.”

Rahim-Mashaei drew criticism from a number of leading clerics and Ahmadinejad supporters during the president's first term, when he allegedly said the Iranian people was friendly with all peoples, including Israelis.

However, Ahmadinejad, who counts Rahim-Mashaei as one of his closest confidants, resisted the calls for his dismissal, and recently raised his rank, as part of his cabinet reshuffle.

ZAP/MD