TEHRAN, Iran – An appeals court found Iran’s industry minister guilty of fraud, newspapers reported Monday, in a new embarrassment for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even as he faces new disputes with his own hard-line camp over his government.
Ahmadinejad has been feuding the past week with hard-liners, first over his appointment for vice president — whom he was forced to drop — then over his dismissal Sunday of his intelligence minister. Some hard-liners contend Ahmadinejad’s government must be put to a parliamentary vote of confidence.
The rift comes on top of the upheaval over Iran’s disputed June 12 presidential election. The pro-reform opposition claims Ahmadinejad’s victory in the vote was fraudulent and that its leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is the rightful winner. They say Ahmadinejad’s government is illegitimate.
