Former President Rafsanjani Criticizes Ahmadinejad (IranVNC)

16:30 GMT-12:30 PM/EST

Former President Ayatollah Akbar Rafsanjani is firing new political shots at current President Ahmadinejad.

Speaking to local officials at the Mashhad Chamber of Commerce, Rafsanjani, who now heads the arbitration body, the Expediency Council, likened the Ahmadinejad government to a "big employer" that has failed to keep costs in line.

Rafsanjani said, quote, "...the government has transformed itself into a big employer that has become involved in many economic arenas which it did not have permission to enter and with the increase in government interference in the economy, the country has been faced with many problems."

Rafsanjani said, quote, ..."...the government has transformed itself into a big employer that has become involved in many economic arenas which it did not have permission to enter and with the increase in government interference in the economy, the country has been faced with many problems."

The former President, referring to his own term in office, and implementation of what he called the 25 year plan, said the steps taken in his term and the term of the Khatami Administration have not continued.

He said quote "this important matter should proceed on the basis of a timeline, gradually and step by step." Haste, Rafsanjani said, would have bad repercussions.

In the last three years, Rafsanjani said, quote: "We have tolerated (the Ahmadinejad) government."

Rafsanjani's remarks are the latest in a string of criticisms leveled at Ahmadinejad's economic policies.

Last week, Majlis speaker, Ali Larijani, asked the government to find a solution to Iran's rising inflation. He said that government officials should not propose ideological issues, but that they should rather take steps to solve the country's economic issues. He acknowledged that Iran was facing difficulties in the areas of investment and importing.

Also last week, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani, Tehran's interim Friday prayer leader, in his sermon on Friday said: "Our country's economy is really sick... We hope that officials will solve the problems of the society, especially the economic problems, with discernment."

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