05-04-2009, 11:58 PM
<b>Iranâs Khamenei Rejects Ahmadinejad Move to Merge State Bodies </b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei overturned a decision by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to merge two state organizations, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Khamenei, the highest power in the Islamic republic, objected to a plan that would combine Iranâs Hajj and pilgrimage organization with the entity responsible for cultural heritage and tourism, IRNA said.
<b>âThe president is alerted that the annexation of this organization with the tourism committee is not suitable,â Khamenei said in a statement addressed yesterday to his representative for Hajj affairs, Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri</b>.
The leaderâs statement, which comes in advance of June 12 presidential elections, is a public setback for Ahmadinejad, who is facing a struggle in the ballot, said Farideh Farhi, who studies Iran at the University of Hawaii.
<b>Khamenei âis keeping above the frayâ and isnât explicitly endorsing Ahmadinejad in the vote</b>, she said by phone from Honolulu.
Khamenei asked for the âprevious course of actionâ to continue, IRNA reported.
In other news today, Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to Latin America which was scheduled for later this week, the presidential office said, without giving an explanation for the change of plan.
<b>Ahmadinejadâs proposed visit to Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil has been postponed for now</b>, according to a report on the presidentâs official Web site.
âProvocativeâ Stance
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Khamenei, the highest power in the Islamic republic, objected to a plan that would combine Iranâs Hajj and pilgrimage organization with the entity responsible for cultural heritage and tourism, IRNA said.
<b>âThe president is alerted that the annexation of this organization with the tourism committee is not suitable,â Khamenei said in a statement addressed yesterday to his representative for Hajj affairs, Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri</b>.
The leaderâs statement, which comes in advance of June 12 presidential elections, is a public setback for Ahmadinejad, who is facing a struggle in the ballot, said Farideh Farhi, who studies Iran at the University of Hawaii.
<b>Khamenei âis keeping above the frayâ and isnât explicitly endorsing Ahmadinejad in the vote</b>, she said by phone from Honolulu.
Khamenei asked for the âprevious course of actionâ to continue, IRNA reported.
In other news today, Ahmadinejad canceled a trip to Latin America which was scheduled for later this week, the presidential office said, without giving an explanation for the change of plan.
<b>Ahmadinejadâs proposed visit to Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil has been postponed for now</b>, according to a report on the presidentâs official Web site.
âProvocativeâ Stance
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