Mick Hartley

An interesting indication of the way things are going in Iran:

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was publicly humiliated yesterday after the country’s supreme leader overruled his decision not to implement a law requiring the government to supply gas to remote villages.

The move, by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a blow to the president, whose popularity has been plummeting amid rising food prices and deaths due to gas cuts in the midst of a particularly harsh winter.

In response to a request by the conservative-dominated parliament, Mr Khamenei ordered him to implement a law MPs had passed to spend £500 million to supply gas to villages. Mr Ahmadinejad had refused for budgetary reasons.

Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, the parliament’s speaker, described Mr Ahmadinejad’s refusal as “surprising” and said his appeal to Mr Khamenei was aimed at “defending the dignity of the legislature”.

His comments, which were broadcast live on state radio, brought shouts of “well done” from the chamber.