'Obey Ahmadinejad like God'

2009-08-12 20:12

Tehran - A hardline cleric considered to be the mentor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Iranians on Wednesday to follow the newly-elected president, saying that obeying him was akin to obeying God.

Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi also warned the country's opposition groups against undermining supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been the country's spiritual guide for 20 years.

"When the president is endorsed by the leader, obeying him is similar to obedience to God," Mesbah Yazdi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

Khamenei endorsed Ahmadinejad as president for a second term last week amid a continuing political crisis sparked by widespread protests against his June re-election.

Lashing out at opposition groups that refuse to acknowledge Ahmadinejad's victory, Mesbah Yazdi said these "enemies" also wanted to undermine Khamenei.

"The enemies wanted to weaken or eliminate this main pillar and some people knowingly or unknowingly sought to do this in recent events," he said.
 

- AFP