Mohammad-Javad Larijani, senior advisor to Supreme Leader on foreign affairs, gave an interview in which he mostly defended his brothers, disqualified candidate Ali Larijani and Guardian Council member Amoli Larijani. However, he also commented on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s messianic Shi’a beliefs, saying they were deviant like Baha’ism. Larijani’s comments are serious as the Baha’i religion is illegal in Iran and its followers are regularly subject to discrimination, harassment and arrest.