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Iranian President Ahmadinejad's Spiritual Mentor Criticizes for His Role in Internal Power Struggle
(AP-Washington Post) The spiritual mentor of Iranian President Ahmadinejad has harshly criticized him for his role in an internal power struggle that has split the country's hard-liners, indicating that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's own support base is badly fraying. Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi said Ahmadinejad is increasingly turning friends into enemies and demonstrating what he called "illogical and cheap" behavior, in an interview published Saturday in the hard-line weekly Shoma. Ahmadinejad and his backers are struggling to regroup after the stinging rebuke by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the dismissal of the intelligence minister. The showdown was interpreted as further evidence of a growing rift between Ahmadinejad and the ruling theocracy and a sign that Khamenei is seeking to tighten his grip on political affairs.