Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently rebuked Iranian President Ahmadinejad and ordered him to implement a gas-sector law, in a rare public "smackdown" that signals Ahmadinejad's weakness. According to this report, Mahmoud's popularity has plummeted. He is even losing support among his once-reliable base, Iran's lower class:But after two years in power and record revenues from oil, the economy is in deeper crisis and the poor are bearing the brunt of Mr Ahmadinejad's economic policies.
