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 which deviated from the clerics' theocratic rule, hence top clerics labeled the faction associated with him as "deviant current".