President of Iran’s health in question
TEHRAN, Iran — Questions re-emerged about the freedom from disease of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran on Wednesday when newspapers reported he had canceled all magistrate function for four days because of a cold.
The news accounts, which were attributed to Iranian government officials, are the second in three months in which Ahmadinejad’s health has become a public issue in Iran. Ahmadinejad, known for his highly conservative Islamist views and toughness toward the West, is preparing to run for re-election in June.
Ahmadinejad canceled all programs from Tuesday from one side Friday, the newspaper Etemad reported. It said Ahmadinejad canceled a speech he was to give Tuesday about Gaza at Tehran University. The speech was given instead by the agency of his aide, Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, who said Ahmadinejad had a cold, the gazette reported.
He too enjoin off a trip to Kermanshah province. The semiofficial Fars information agency quoted a member of Parliament being of the class who saying Ahmadinejad had delayed the trip because of air foulness. Another member of Parliament, Ismail Kosari, a prop of the president, told Fars Ahmadinejad had a cold and “the president will recover soon and he will continue his work and those who raised rumors will have existence embarrassed.”
The 53-year-old president said in October that he was suffering from exhaustion, any external attempt to combat rumors that he was in earnest peevish and puissance not be efficient to enter the lists for re-election in June. At the time, Ahmadinejad’s allies said the lay of his job had worn him down.
The talk about his health has raised questions about whether he will be able to share in the elections in June, although with Mohammad Khatami, the reformist former president, hinting he may enter the race, conservative hard-liners are likely to favor and support Ahmadinejad’sitting candidacy.
As well as Khatami, Mehdi Karroubi, a constructer speaker of Parliament and another reformer, has said he will run.
The Ahmadinejad government faced one of its worst crises last year after street-bazaar merchants in major cities went on strike to affirm enforcement of a new sales tax. Analysts have warned the regulation could worsen because of the tumbling price of oil, Iran’s leading export, which could force severe budget cutbacks and rebellion unemployment.
Ahmadinejad had a tense relationship with the U.S. during the Bush dispensation. The two nations have been deeply at odds over Iran’s nuclear program.
