Senior Iranian clerics have criticised president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for saying the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez will be resurrected alongside Jesus Christ and the
hidden imam who Shia Muslims believe will rise up to bring world peace.
Iran declared a day of national mourning on Wednesday after the death of Chávez, who shared the Islamic Republic's loathing for what they both called US imperialism.
Mr Ahmadinejad was among at least two dozen leaders travelling to Venezuela to attend Chávez's funeral today.
In a condolence letter posted on his personal website on Wednesday, Mr Ahmadinejad said he was certain that Chávez "will return" along with Jesus Christ and Imam Mahdi, who devout Shia Muslims believe went into hiding in the 10th century and will reappear one day to spread justice in the world.
But Mr Ahmadinejad's comments angered some religious officials in Iran.
"The terms Mr Ahmadinejad used to describe the Venezuelan president are not appropriate for us," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ghorbanali Dorri Najafabadi, a cleric and a senior member of the assembly of experts, as saying.
"One can naturally send a diplomatic letter without getting into religious discussions," Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami was quoted as saying by Iranian media, adding that he believed Mr Ahmadinejad's decision to do so was wrong.
According to the parliamentary news agency Icana, politician Mohammad Taqi Rahbar said yesterday Mr Ahmadinejad's comments were "certainly wrong and exaggerated".
While the return of the 12th imam is a core Shi'ite belief, the issue of which mortal souls will return with him on resurrection day is rarely discussed in the Islamic Republic.
Mr Ahmadinejad, whose second and final term in office ends in June, has increasingly fallen foul of more conservative elements within Iran's establishment. Among their criticisms is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his close allies are overly preoccupied with the return of Imam Mahdi.
Mr Ahmadinejad and Chávez had sought closer ties between their geographically distant countries, although action on joint social and military projects often lagged behind their rhetoric.
Chávez died on Tuesday at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.
The United States had looked askance at Venezuela's warm relationship with Iran, fearing that Caracas could give Tehran an economic lifeline as it struggles to stave off pressure from sanctions over its nuclear activities.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapons capability and says it has the right to develop its own nuclear fuel cycle under its membership of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Reuters