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There is no doubt that Ahmadinejad and Khamenei are at
loggerheads. This is no surprise. As explained in a previous column
all presidents have had trouble with the "Supreme Guide" of the time.
Sharing power at the summit is always problematic. Unable to fly, a
double-headed eagle often tears itself apart. Initially, Ahmadinejad
angered Khamenei by scripting his group out of numerous juicy
contracts and business deals. However, for the first time, the fight
may also be about something more than personal power.
Ahmadinejad has realised the bankruptcy of the Khomeinist
discourse and is trying to replace it with a pseudo-nationalistic, and
perhaps more dangerous, narrative in which the mullahs have no
place. Khamenei may be trying to push Ahmadinejad to the brink in
the hope that the president would lose his nerve and throw in the
towel. However, Ahmadinejad might prove a tougher cookie than
Khamenei apparently hopes. My guess is that Ahmadinejad will not
jump and, if pushed, would not flee into exile as did the first
President of the Islamic Republic Abol-Hassan Banisadr. Nor would
Ahmadinejad kowtow to the "Supreme Guide" as did Rafsanjani and
Muhammad Khatami. What about assassination? That is what
happened to Muhammad-Ali Raja'i, the second President of the
Islamic Republic. That Khamenei is attacking Ahmadinejad every
day is a sign that the "Supreme Guide" is scared. According to a
Persian proverb, like a snake, a mullah is most dangerous when
frightened.

Amir Taheri was born in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, and educated in
Tehran, London and Paris. Taheri's latest book "The Persian Night"
is published by Encounter Books in London and New York.
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