The "deviant current" or "current of deviation" ( fa, جریان انحرافی, Jarīān-e Enherāfī) is a term used by Iranian officials (e.g. high-ranking clerics, Revolutionary Guards commanders) and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

rivals of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to describe Ahmadinejad's entourage which functions like a faction or

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

. Ahmadinejad had some tendency toward Iranian nationalism which deviated from the clerics' theocratic rule, hence top clerics labeled the faction associated with him as "deviant current". The term was coined in 2011, after an open conflict between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

People

People who have been described as associated with the "deviant current" include: * Mahmoud Ahmadinejad * Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, described as the leader of the movement *

Hamid Baghaei Hamid Baghaei ( fa, حميد بقایی) is an Iranian conservative politician and former intelligence officer who is considered one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's closest confidants. He first entered the administration in 2006 as deputy of Esfandia ...

Mohammad Reza Rahimi Mohammad Reza Rahimi ( fa, محمدرضا رحيمی, born on 11 January 1949) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth first vice president from 13 September 2009 until 3 August 2013. His previous posts included governor of the Kurdi ...

Ali Nikzad Ali Nikzad ( fa, علی نیکزاد; born 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician and academic and a former cabinet minister. Early life and education Nikzad was born in 1961. He holds a bachelor's degree in urban development from the Uni ...

* Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi * Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh * Mohammad Aliabadi *

Ali Akbar Javanfekr Ali Akbar Javanfekr (born 12 June 1959) is a senior Iranian politician and the presidential advisor for press affairs and as of 19 December 2010, he is the Managing-Director of IRNA since 1 November 2010 On 20 November 2011, he was sentenced to a ...

* Abdolreza Davari, senior media figure in presidential administration * Habibollah Joz-e-Khorasani, financial affairs director of the presidential administration * Abbas Amirifar, cleric, head of the cultural committee of presidential administration * Kazem Kiapasha, presidential aide * Bahman Sharifzadeh, cleric * Abbas Ghaffari, allegedly Ahmadinejad's personal

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

*Ali Asghar Parhizkar, executive director of the Arvand Free Zone *Alireza Moghimi, executive director of the

Aras Free Zone Aras Free Trade - Industrial Zone (abbreviated as AFZ) is located in the Northwest of Iran at the border point with neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. According to the Decree ''No. 20708/T/530820'', dated 28 J ...

*Parivash Satvati, widow of Hossein Fatemi

Ideology

The faction is described as " nationalist conservative" by Stratfor; also described as "neo-conservative nationalists" by Pejman Abdolmohammadi, assistant professor in Middle Eastern studies at University of Trento and Giampiero Cama, professor of

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

University of Genova The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

. According to Bernd Kaussler, assistant professor of political science at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

, their ideology is a combination of

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

and the principlist rhetoric. The tendency tries to nationalize

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

Islamism, and advocates an “Iranian School of Islam” which seems antagonistic toward the '' Velayat Faqih'', an idea that formed the basis of the current establishment in Iran. Ahmadinejad and his associates have regularly used the word "spring" and the phrase "Long live the spring" as a slogan, which is believed to have connotations for the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and econo ...

, although Ahmadinejad claims it refers to the reappearance of Imam Mahdi.

Organization

A group is active under the acronym HOMA (standing for ''Havadarn-e Mahmoud Ahmadinejad'' in Persian, meaning "Supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad") and published an online newspaper with the same name. The

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

team organizes various websites, including (), () and ''Meydan-e Haftadodo'' (, named after the neighborhood Ahmadinejad lives in) among others. They maintain online activity elsewhere, running many blogs and social media accounts.

Electoral performance

2012

Monotheism and Justice Front, a group that endorsed a list of candidates for 2012 parliamentary elections is reportedly linked to Mashaei. The results showed a major defeat for them in the elections, and they only won 9 seats, according to Deutsche Welle.

2013

In a Medvedev/Putin-style scenario, Mashaei ran for president in 2013 presidential election backed by Ahmadinejad, who said "Mashaei means Ahmadinejad and Ahmadinejad means Mashaei". He was disqualified by the Guardian Council. 2013 local elections were the next defeat. The faction were unable to secure a seat in Tehran City Council and even Parvin, Ahmadinejad's sister was unseated.

2017

In 2017 presidential election, Ahmdinejad who backed

, registered as a candidate along with him, but both were disqualified.

2020

Candidates associated with the circle ran on a list for 2020 parliamentary elections, although Ahmadinejad himself did not support any specific list. Middle East Research and Information Project stated that they won 14 seats in the first round of elections.

References

{{Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Persian words and phrases Political slurs Political terminology of Iran Political metaphors 2010s neologisms Mahmoud Ahmadinejad