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dispatch Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi to Saudi Arabia for a
"working visit". Khamenei signaled his opposition through
newspapers controlled by his office.
For weeks, Ahmadinejad tired to appoint a Governor for the Fars
province. His choice was chased away by Khamenei henchmen
laying siege to the governor's office in Shiraz.
Hardly a day passes without a mullah, including some on his payroll
until recently, attacking Ahmadinejad. Often, it is clear that
Khamenei offered a fatter envelope to the mullah concerned.
The military are also ranged against Ahmadinejad. Once regarded as
Ahmadinejad's principal supporters, Revolutionary Guard generals
are appearing on TV to denounce the president's "deviant tendency."
Even on minor issues, Khamenei is advertising his authority.
Last week, Ahmadinejad's office approved a decision by the Iranian
Academy to replace the French word "police", in use in Iran since the
19th century, with the Persian word "passvar."
This was part of Ahmadinejad's decision to "purify" the Persian
vocabulary by getting rid of Arabic and other foreign words.
Khamenei vetoed the decision as" another sign of Iranian
nationalism" which he regards as a threat to Islam.
Few in Tehran missed the irony of a mullah defending a French word
against a Persian equivalent.
Pro-Khamenei newspapers drop hints about "secret contacts" between
Ahmadinejad and the "green" opposition to form a front against
Khamenei. There is talk of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani
setting aside his old hatred of Ahmadinejad in a bid to isolate the
"Supreme Guide".
Finally, security forces have arrested over 50 members of
Ahmadinejad's entourage, including some close friends, on charges of
"spreading unauthorized beliefs".
What does all this mean?
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