Dubai: He is being subjected to personal attacks and many of his family members have been arrested and threatened with legal action.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the most powerful men in Iran, faces a growing campaign by the conservatives aimed at bringing him closer to their ranks in the political battle with the moderates which erupted after last June’s presidential elections, experts in Iranian affairs said.

“The return of Rafsanjani to the conservative camp will have an impact on the general political, psychological and media status of the camp,” prominent Iranian analyst Ameer Mousavi said.

But as long as Rafsanjani maintains his non-committal position, he represents a “tool [that might be used] against the conservatives,” Mousavi explained to Gulf News.

The Iranian establishment has split over the Green Movement, two of its main pillars are the reformist candidates who lost the elections: Mir Hussain Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi.

The latest move against Rafsanjani came from parliament, immediately after several days holiday for Now Rouz (the Iranian New Year.)

Some 233 MPs in the 290-member legislative body recently called for tough measures against the “corrupt” in the country, and asked him to punish all those involved in such activities regardless of their “high rank in the society”, a reference interpreted by some experts as targeting Rafsanjani and his family — a charge Rafsanjani has repeatedly denied.

The call was included in a letter addressed to the Head of the Ministry of Justice, Ayatollah Sadegh Ardishir Larijani. It coincided with unconfirmed press reports saying the spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the trial of two of Rafsanjani’s children: Faiza and Mahdi…