TEHRAN: Iran's president Wednesday shunned a Cabinet meeting for the second consecutive time this week, apparently showing his discontent over a recent government appointment by the country's supreme leader. The no-show appears to be part of a growing rift between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme leader who has final say in all state matters in Iran. The split threatens to destabilize Iran at a time of tension with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The confrontation, which has been simmering for months, seems to be part of a power struggle ahead of parliamentary elections next year. The most recent flare up stems from Ahmadinejad's dismissal last week of Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi. Khamenei then promptly reinstated Moslehi in a public slap to the president. Khamenei has made clear he would defend his powers, including to name ministers, warning in a speech Saturday that he will intervene in the government's affairs whenever necessary — a sharp rebuke to Ahmadinejad for challenging his authority. Although Khamenei ordered Moslehi to remain in the Cabinet, the president reportedly didn't abide by the order and failed to officially invite Moslehi to last Wednesday's government session. Moslehi didn't attend that meeting but was a surprise show at Sunday's session. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, skipped it. The president and his Cabinet had been expected to meet again Wednesday in Qom, 130 kilometers south of the capital Tehran. But Ali Banaei, a lawmaker representing the holy city in the parliament, said the trip had been canceled. Instead, the Cabinet met without Ahmadinejad in Tehran. Khamenei's decision to reinstate Moslehi has put Ahmadinejad in an awkward position: either openly snub Iran's top leader and risk more fallout or submit and lose a high stakes political fight. Hardliners, who consider Khamenei above the law and answerable only to God, say the supreme leader will not back down. And he has the backing of most of parliament. A statement signed last week by 216 lawmakers asked Ahmadinejad to obey Khamenei's order without question.
