Iran media confirms: Ahmadinejad is ill

Close associate says president is sick due to strains of position, but that he will "eventually heal."

By AP, JPOST.COM STAFF
Ahmadinejad with bodyguards 224.88 ap (photo credit: AP)
Ahmadinejad with bodyguards 224.88 ap
(photo credit: AP)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to his heavy workload, a close associate told the Iranian state news agency late Saturday. Parliament member Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, a close ally of the president, told IRNA that Ahmadinejad was feeling under the weather because of the strain of his position. "The president will eventually heal and continue his job," said Kowsari, who last September accompanied the president on his trip to the UN General Assembly. "Every human being can face exhaustion under such a workload." On Saturday, flanked by bodyguards, he participated in the funeral ceremony for recently discovered remains of soldiers from the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. Over the weekend, reports in the Islamic Republic claimed the Iranian president's health was deteriorating, with a top aide, Amir Mansour Borghei, telling journalists the president was "indisposed." Kowsari accused his opponents of using Ahmadinejad's exhaustion as an excuse to spread rumors about whether he will run for a second term in the June 2009 elections. "Those who use such a natural issue for psychological warfare will fail" to gain support in public opinion, he said. In the past weeks, supporters of Ahmadinejad have been discussing potential candidates for the next presidential election, implying that the sitting president is not their automatic choice. All previous Iranian presidents completed both their terms, except the first one, Abolhasan Banisadr, who fled the country in 1981. The months ahead are critical for Ahmadinejad to try to rebuild his political base and rebut critics pointing to his unfulfilled campaign promises, including extending the wealth of Iran's oil revenue to poorer provinces around the country. With over 10 percent unemployment and 30% inflation, Iran has been unable to bask in record-high oil prices - which are just barely covering domestic subsidies.