TEHRAN – One of Iran’s most senior politicians yesterday accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of lying in a televised presidential election debate, and called on the country’s supreme leader to intervene.
In an unprecedented public attack, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said tens of millions of Iranians had witnessed “misstatements and fabrications” in the debate last week, when Mr Ahmadinejad accused Mr Rafsanjani of corruption.
“I am expecting you to resolve this position in order to extinguish the fire, whose smoke can be seen in the atmosphere, and to foil dangerous plots,” Mr Rafsanjani said in a letter to Ali Khamenei, published by the semi-official Mehr news agency.
The presidential election campaign has been marked by fierce public debate between Mr Ahmadinejad and his moderate opponents, and nightly demonstrations by rival supporters on Tehran’s streets. Mr Rafsanjani’s intervention is likely to raise tensions further. – (Reuters)