Ahmadinejad’s staunch ally assumes new post

TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (MNA) – In a decree issued on Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Esfandiar Rahim Mashaii, who formerly served as the Presidential Office chief of staff, as the head of the temporary secretariat of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran. In another presidential decree, Hassan Mousavi, who formerly served as the director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, was appointed as the Presidential Office chief of staff. Rahim Mashaii’s remarks and measures have always drawn criticism from President Ahmadinejad’s opponents. There is speculation that Rahim Mashaii, a close ally of the president, would run in the presidential election, which will be held on June 14, 2013.