Time said: “A public confrontation between Ahmadinejad and Iran’s clerical Supreme Leader, Ayatullah Ali Khamenei has escalated into a high-noon showdown from which neither man can retreat without losing face – and damaging the regime, one way or another.
Reports from Iran Friday suggested that Khamenei has given Ahmadinejad an ultimatum: Accept the Supreme Leader’s reinstatement of Heydar Moslehi, the intelligence minister fired two weeks ago by Ahmadinejad, or resign as president….
At the same time, Ahmadinejad and his supporters have come under withering attack from the conservative clergy, and from political allies of the Supreme Leader in parliament, who appear to be reviving moves to impeach the President.”
The magazine added: “The Moslehi reappointment after Ahmadinejad fired him because of his loyalty to Khamenei and alleged spying on political figures was simply the last straw – a split between the Supreme Leader and the president he backed to the hilt in the 2009 election showdown has been looming ever since then.”
Time warned the observers and western officials that: “…in trying to understand what has produced the split in the alliance that banded together to crush the challenge of the Green Movement two years ago, it would be a mistake to assume that this is about us. Some have noted that Ahmadinejad’s camp appears to be more inclined than Khamenei’s to do a deal with the West on the nuclear issue. Perhaps, but that’s not the reason for the split – and it could be perilous trying to find ‘the good guys’ in this particular fight.… this is less a fight over policy and philosophies of government than a power struggle within a narrow conservative elite.”