Iran's Ahmadinejad in growing rift with top cleric

The Jakarta Post, Associated Press, Tehran | Wed, 04/27/2011

Iran's president has shunned a Cabinet meeting for the second consecutive time, apparently showing his discontent over a recent government appointment by the country's supreme leader.

There is a growing rift between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say in all Iranian state matters.

The confrontation stems from Ahmadinejad's recent dismissal of the intelligence minister, Heidar Moslehi, who was then promptly reinstated by Khamenei. The move was a public slap to the president.

Iranian media say Moslehi attended Wednesday's Cabinet session. Ahmadinejad abstained, as he did on Sunday.

The Ahmadinejad-Khamenei discord could destabilize Iran from within. The country is at odds with the West and under U.N. sanctions over its controversial nuclear program.