Ayatollah Khamenei Backs Ahmadinejad in Power Struggle

A power struggle in Iran between president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Khamenei appears to be resolving, as the country's supreme leader publicly backed Ahmadinejad yesterday, reports the Los Angeles Times. "While there are weaknesses and problems, the composition of the executive branch is good and appropriate, and the government is working," said Khamenei to parliament in a speech that was later broadcast on television. "The government and parliament must help each other."

However, Khamenei offered a warning to his country's unpredictable president. "When the law is passed, the government must implement it with full power and without any excuse," he said. Experts believe that Ahmadinejad is positioning himself to retain influence after his term ends in 2013. "If he is toppled by parliament, he would be a hero" for his grassroots supporters and mobs, said one analyst. "But if he stays in power—and he will stay—he can claim that his enemies and critics within the system do not allow him to work properly." (More Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stories.)