Those words sparked the ire of Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, who is appointed by the supreme leader and who lambasted Mr. Khatami as an " ignorant, hateful, and populist cleric."

哈塔米的言论激起了强硬派《世界报》编辑侯赛因·沙里亚特马达里的愤怒，沙里亚特马达里由最高领袖任命，他抨击哈塔米是一个“无知、可恶、民粹主义的神职人员”。