Iran heads of 3 govt. branches meet amid tensions

TEHRAN, Aug. 16 (MNA) – The heads of the three branches of government held a meeting on Sunday. It was the sixth meeting of its kind over the past 9 months between President Ahmadinejad, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Judiciary Chief Sadeq Larijani.

The meeting came as Ahmadinejad and Sadeq Larijani have openly criticized each other. For example, on Reporters Day on August 7, Ahmadinejad said journalists should not be brought to court for writing an article criticizing an official or the performance of a state body. The president said a journalist may be sentenced for writing an article or brought to court for many months.

One day later Judiciary chief reacted to the president, saying the Judiciary only observes law and that judges are independent in issuing verdicts. He also complained about the tone of the president at the session, saying it is expected that president use a decent language.

Ahmadinejad also caused uproar among parliamentarians as he said last Wednesday that he does not consider as law a parliamentary approval about allocating 2 billion dollars from the Foreign Exchange Fund to metro Development in Tehran and other big cities.

In reaction on Sunday, Ali Larijani, the head of legislative power, said there is no room for “odd interpretation” of law.