The hands of Rafsanjani’s multifaceted political organization can be seen in many of the moves. Ahmadinejad defeated Rafsanjani in the 2005 presidential election that many saw as flawed and has since decried him as a corrupt oligarch. Ahmadinejad poses a threat to Rafsanjani’s financial empire, which includes agriculture and a lucrative network of private universities, called Azad.
