Deviant current
The "deviant current" or "current of deviation" (Persian: جریان انحرافی, romanized: Jarīān-e Enherāfī) is a term used by Iranian officials (e.g. high-ranking clerics, Revolutionary Guards commanders) and conservative rivals of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to describe Ahmadinejad's entourage, which functions like a faction or party. Ahmadinejad had some tendency toward Iranian nationalism that deviated from the clerics' theocratic rule, hence top clerics labeled the faction associated with him as "deviant current". The term was coined in 2011, after an open conflict between Ahmadinejad and the Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.