On his getting booted from this Friday's Quds prayer service, Rafsanjani has cautiously responded, "It is not necessary that I should lead the prayers after 30 years."
Masoud Shafaee is an attorney and freelance Middle East analyst based in Washington, D.C. He holds a Juris Doctor from American University's Washington College of Law and a master's degree in international affairs from the School of International Service. He was born in Tehran and hails from California.