News

After the snub of having a minister he fired reinstated by the Ayatollah the Iranian president may sulk himself into resignation

"This year will be a difficult year. Fasten your seatbelt and put on your iron-clad boots. Soon commotions will be heard."

According to the Tehran-based Javan Online – a publication close to the Revolutionary Guards – this statement was made by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's senior adviser and confidant, Esfandiyar Rahim Meshai, days before the forced resignation of Iran's intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, on 17 April.

Moslehi resigned after a major dispute with Meshai and Ahmadinejad over who should head the intelligence ministry's bureau of planning and budget.

Until now, there is nothing extraordinary about this story, because when it comes to firing ministers, no president can beat Ahmadinejad's record in post-revolution Iran. Ministers have been fired before, such as former intelligence minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei. Others, such as the former foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, were not only fired but humiliated by being dismissed while visiting a foreign country. In fact, Mottaki heard the news of his dismissal from his Senegalese hosts who were informed before he was.