Iran: The Supreme Leader Takes Control

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gained some breathing space Sept. 3 when the Iranian parliament gave its vote of confidence to 18 of the 21 nominees he had proposed for ministerial posts. With the supreme leader playing puppet master in mediating between Iran's rival factions behind the scenes, the vicious power struggle that broke out into the open following the June 12 election debacle is starting to let up — with less than three weeks to go before a Western deadline arrives for Iran to come to the negotiating table.