At a main crossroads in the holy city of Mashhad a blue hoarding welcomes Mohammad Khatami, Iran’s former reformist president, as the “national pride”.

However, on the eve of Mr Khatami’s rally, the centrepiece of a three-day visit to Iran’s second-biggest city designed to build support before parliamentary elections in March, his political opponents cut the electricity supply, plunging his image into gloom – which is where his opponents would like the former president to stay.