Azernews.Az

Iran's former president Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has slammed the Iranian authorities, after he was not permitted to participate in the upcoming presidential elections in the country, opposition website Kalemeh reported.

"The Iranian authorities are narrow minded. Those who voted for my disqualification lack knowledge of the current situation in the country, and I don't know where they're going with this kind of approach," the former president said during the meeting with his supporters.

He went on to say that there are plans under discussion in the U.S. aimed at separating Azarbaijan and Sistan & Baluchestan provinces from Iran, and mentioned that the U.S. wants to support Israel in case of strikes on Iran, because of the nuclear dispute.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. Iran has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

"The authorities of Iran don't know about these processes, they are unaware of the situation that is going to get worse," Rafsanjani said, adding that the UK and the U.S. are waiting for the results on the elections in Iran.

Rafsanjani noted that Iran is experiencing economic crisis under the paralysing sanctions, which damage industries and agriculture. He noted that Iran currently has a 30 percent inflation level and the 50 percent-drop in national currency value.

Rafsanjani was a speaker of the Iranian parliament for 10 years, then served 8 years as country's president, and is currently the head of the Expediency Council of Iran.

He was not qualified by the Guardian Council of Iran to participate at the upcoming presidential elections in the country.

After the news became public, the immediate negative reaction followed, mostly by the family members of the family of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom Rafsanjani was close.

"I didn't have any desire to participate in the elections, and I told that to Supreme Leader Khamenei clearly, before the registration," Rafsanjani underscored. "However the demands from both clerics and ordinary people made me submit my candidacy."