TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stepped in to defuse a row between reformist deputies and the hardline judiciary yesterday, pardoning a jailed MP after the Speaker of parliament threatened a boycott.
Mr Hossein Loqmanian, found guilty of criticising the judiciary, became the first MP to be jailed in Iran. The ensuing row was the latest episode in a struggle between the conservatives, including the judiciary, and President Khatami and a parliament that complains about its lack of power.
The Speaker, Mr Mehdi Karroubi, took the initiative yesterday by declaring in an emotional speech that Loqmanian's imprisonment was an act of aggression against the assembly and that he would not chair any sessions until the MP was freed.
