Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh

Who is Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh?

Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh is an Iranian politician who is a "close ally" of Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was arrested June 23, 2011 with no charges were given in the report of his arrest but he has been accused of financial irregularities. He is thought to be the "most senior" of the "at least 25" associates of Ahmadinejad to be arrested as part of the 2011 rift between the president and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Aljazeera, "Malekzadeh had been at the centre of a dispute between members of parliament, who opposed his nomination, and Ali-Akbar Salehi, Iran’s foreign minister. Salehi's initial refusal to remove him prompted more than 30 parliamentarians to petition the speaker for the minister’s impeachment." Malekzadeh resigned from his post June 21, "only a week after he was appointed" according to The Guardian