As part of anticipated changes in the structure of his new government, President Ahmadinejad appointed his close confidant Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei to the post of vice president Thursday night.

Rahim-Mashaei, who has served as the head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, will replace the incumbent first vice president Parviz Davoudi.

New first vice president Rahim-Mashaei stirred up fierce controversy after saying earlier in 2008 that despite the conflict between governments, Iranians are friends with the Israeli people.

"Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people," Rahim-Mashaei was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying. "No nation in the world is our enemy."

Following the remarks, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was quick to react at the Friday prayers by saying, "Who are the Israelis? They are responsible for usurping houses, territory, farmlands and businesses. They are fighters at the disposal of Zionist operatives.”

"The Iranian nation has nothing against Jews, Christians or followers of faith. However, it is mistaken to say that we are friends with the people of Israel in the same manner as we are friends with other people around the world,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Rahim-Mashaei later distanced himself from his earlier stance, saying that his comments had been misinterpreted.

Mashaei is being replaced by his first deputy Hamid Baqaei.

Hojjatoleslam Hamid Rasaei, a ninth administration insider and a Principlist member of the 8th Majlis, said, “It would have been much better if this appointment had not been made.”

Hojjatoleslam Rasaei said, “The public opinion has grown sensitive toward Mr. Mashaei”, adding, “It would be much better if Mr. Ahmadinejad paid more attention to public opinion and Majlis before making appointments.”

Majlis Energy Committee Chairman Hamid-Reza Katouzian has also criticized Ahmadinejad for his hasty selection of Rahim-Mashaei for the post of first vice president.

“Such appointments are usually made after the inauguration and authorization ceremonies, and it would have been better if this practice was also followed this time,” he told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

Katouzian said many religious figures and MPs are not pleased with some of his remarks and actions. Even the Supreme Leader made comments about Rahim-Mashaei and the president should have heeded these comments, he added.

“Despite all these sensitive points, Mr. Rahim-Mashaei did not even apologize, but quite the contrary, insisted on his views,” he pointed out. 

Katouzian said the decision to make the appointment did not take the views of the people and the Supreme Leader into consideration.

“I think Mr. Ahmadinejad made a mistake in this appointment, and I am of the opinion that this choice will have some repercussions,” he added.

“Mr. Ahmadinejad has always showed (us) that he is 100 percent heedless in situations that are very sensitive,” Katouzian stated.

The Islamic Society of Students Union on Saturday issued a letter to Rahim-Mashaei calling for his resignation.

The union said Ahmadinejad supporters have already borne the burden of much insult against the president in the aftermath of the 10th presidential election.

Iran turned into a scene of opposition rallies after the re-election of President Ahmadinejad -- with nearly two-thirds of the vote -- with defeated candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi reject the election results as fraudulent.

“It is in the interest of the Principlist movement that you resign from the post of vice president,” read the letter.

The student union added that the issue of “Iran's friendship with Israeli people” would provoke a divide in the structure of the 10th government.

The union also warned Rahim-Mashaei of the serious consequences of his appointment as vice president, saying, “This position comes at a high price for you.”

A senior member of Jame-e Mmodarresin-e Qom (the Qom Seminary Teachers Association) Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Mohammad Gharavi, for his part, criticized the decision by President Ahmadinejad describing it as “inappropriate.”

“Many of those concerned are worried about [the consequences] of this appointment,” Hojjatoleslam Gharavi said.

Another senior cleric has criticized President Ahmadinejad for the appointment of Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei as Vice President.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, a Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said on Saturday that Ahmadinejad should reconsider the decision of Mashaei appointment amid a widespread criticism by Principlist supporters and the clergy.

“Given the sensitivities that are known to the president, I could not believe that this appointment would take place,” said Khatami, who sits on the Assembly of Experts and is a senior member of the Society of the Tutors of the Qom Seminary.

“However, unbelievably, this news was announced in the media… It seems that this appointment will create challenges for the government.”

Khatami added that Ahmadinejad had shown “a twisted face to clerics and elites.”

President Ahmadinejad earlier talked of plans to make "considerable changes" in his government and pledged that his new cabinet, to be unveiled in the coming weeks, would be "10 times" more powerful than the previous one.

In his first televised speech after re-election, Ahmadinejad said the changes were aimed at meeting the needs of his second presidential term.

Hojjatoleslam Rasaei said Mashaei's promotion to the post of vice president does not agree with public opinion, adding, “Even many of Mr. Ahmadinejad's supporters [inside his government] are in some way opposed to this appointment.”

He added that it would be much advised that the president made the new appointment after his inauguration for his second term in office.

The move by the Iranian president for cabinet reshuffles comes as Iranian opposition figures Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi continue to demand a re-run of the presidential election.

Ahmadinejad is gradually filling the positions for his second term's Cabinet with his close allies.

Ahmadinejad appointed one of his youngest confidants, Mehrdad Bazrpash, as a deputy president and the head of Iran's National Youth Organization to replace the cleric Mohammad Javad Haj-Aliakbari.

Bazrpash, 30, will need to combine his new responsibilities running Iran's second-biggest automaker, SAIPA, the directorship of which was given to him 2 years ago by the president.

Ahmadinejad announced also the replacement for Gholam Reza Aqazadeh, who resigned last week from heading the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Vice-President for Atomic Energy, after 12 years. The new man is Ali Akbar Salehi, a former Iran envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a former president of the Sharif University of Technology.

Ahmadinejad also appointed Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi as his "First Assistant," and Massoud Zaribafan as another deputy president and head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans' Affairs.

Unlike cabinet ministers, deputy presidents and advisers do not need to secure the acquiescence of the Majlis (Iran's parliament) before their confirmation.