The mullahs’ Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, was also present at the session. The Majlis deputy, Elias Naderan, criticized Rahim Mashai, who Ahmadinejad appointed recently as the chair of the “Supreme Council for Exiled Iranians,” using openly condescending language.
Naderan called the institution “illegal,” and told Mottaki, “If that notorious individual [Mashai] is supposed to run this council, then why not just appoint him as the foreign minister, too?”
Naderan also uncovered more information about the regime’s attempts to assemble its elements from abroad in Tehran in the context of a “conference” in July, which turned into a high profile fiasco and fueled more infighting among regime officials.
In view of the unrewarding so-called conference, Naderan complained, “Each guest [at the conference] had four people with them. We paid for their tickets, rented charter planes for them, and gave them a cross-country tour. We also picked up the tab for their stay in Tehran and paid their 31 years of unpaid salaries.”