Hardliners hit out at Iranian president

PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, already at the centre of a post-election crisis, came under criticism from his own hardline supporters yesterday for appointing a first vice president who once caused an outcry by saying Iranians were friends of Israelis.

Ahmadinejad has been under siege by opposition supporters who claim he stole last month’s election from pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The latest criticism was a reminder that while hardliners have supported Ahmadinejad in the election dispute, they often criticised him before the vote, especially over his handling of Iran’s economy.