 But Mr. Khoshchehreh refers to the supreme religious leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all state matters, with utmost respect.He calls himself a principlist, one of the religious conservatives who threw their support behind Mr. Ahmadinejad and who are now divided between his supporters and his critics.He said that a principlist was a politician “who was loyal to his principles and did not sacrifice national interests for the sake of his party’s interests.”

Mr. Khoshchehreh was one of the critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad's budget in Parliament in February.