Wasn’t Rafsanjani a former president himself, from 1989 to 1997? Nobody seems to mention it anymore.
He sent out hit squads all over the world to assassinate opposition leaders and their entourage and if I remember correctly was behind the bombing of a Jewish building in South America.
His fingers were in every business pie for profit and kickbacks and he is now one of the richest men in the world and helped fund the Green movement to the tune of $100 million.
He fears that if the Mullah regime falls, he will be taken to task for the killings AND for financially raping the country. As so many other Mullahs have done and are doing.
And as the Revolutionary Guard is now doing with huge project overruns in no-bid projects in every aspect of industry and manufacture.