Ahmadinejad Losing Ground in Iran Power Struggle, Analysts Say

Iranian President Ahmadinejad is trying to retain control of Iran’s Oil Ministry despite a ruling by the country’s top judicial body that he can’t serve as its acting chief, in the latest in a series of unusually public squabbles between Ahmadinejad and allies of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“I think Ahmadinejad underestimated the power of Khamenei, and he overestimated his own power,” said Haleh Esfandiari, director of Middle Eastern studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, who was jailed for more than three months in 2007 during a visit to Iran. “You can step on anybody’s toes, but not on his toe.”

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