Iran's Ahmadinejad Denies Rift With Supreme Leader

No rift, says Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has rejected speculation that he has any differences with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In an interview on state television, the president made no mention of the main source of such speculation -- the dismissal of Iranian intelligence Chief Heydar Moslehi -- which Khamenei vetoed and eventually blocked.

He said that Khamenei is for him "like a father."

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has been ruled under the Vali Faqih system, in which one senior cleric at ayatollah level has, according to the constitution, the final say on all state affairs and can even veto decisions by the president.

compiled by agency reports