Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended his first cabinet meeting for more than a week on Sunday, dismissing rumours of a damaging split with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies reported.
Ahmadinejad's close relationship with Khamenei - the senior cleric who has the last word in the Islamic Republic's affairs - was strained two weeks ago, according to some analysts, over the president's attempt to sack his intelligence minister, a move vetoed by the supreme leader.
Since then Ahmadinejad has missed two cabinet meetings - something some foreign analysts said was akin to a boycott. Speculation began to circulate that Ahmadinejad no longer enjoyed the unqualified support of Khamenei, something the government denied. Khamenei had endorsed his re-election in June 2009 in a vote the opposition said was rigged. The Tehran Stock Exchange lost 6 percent in value over the last three trading days due to the political uncertainty. Without the supreme leader's support, any Iranian president risks becoming a lame duck.
Ahead of Sunday's cabinet meeting, the head of national broadcaster IRIB told news agencies that Ahmadinejad would express his allegiance to Khamenei.
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