An attempted display of unity failed. Two candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, did not attend the ceremony. The former president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was due to have led the prayers, was also absent and Ayatollah Khamenei acknowledged some "different points of view" with the veteran powerbroker. "Differences of opinion do exist between officials which is natural. But it does not mean there is a rift in the system. "Ever since the last presidential election there existed differences of opinion between (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad and (former president Hashemi) Rafsanjani. "Of course my outlook is closer to that of Ahmadinejad in domestic and foreign policy."