The legislation was blocked, however, by the Council of Guardians, which deemed it violated the constitution.
Ahmadi-nejad unleashed a biting attack on rivals, including Speaker Ali Larijani, an adversary within his own conservative camp. The president accused those behind the legislation of trampling on the constitution and trying to prune presidential powers.
“Unfortunately, the par-liament’s management … insists on revoking legal powers of the executive branch and intervening in affairs such as appointing or dismissing executive officials,” Ahmadi-nejad said in a letter.
Ahmad Tavakkoli, a conservative lawmaker, said Ahmadi-nejad’s comments were an attempt to divert attention from his mismanagement of the economy.
“Such an attack … is a pretext to hide social woes and overshadow serious economic weaknesses especially in the production sector, whose problems are exacerbated day by day,” Tavakkoli said.
The vetoed legislation has now been referred to the Expediency Council, which is tasked with arbitrating disputes between the Majlis and the Guardian Council.
The Expediency Council is chaired by former President Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, another rival of Ahmadi-nejad’s. The council said it has made no decision yet on how to deal with the issue of the Central Bank governor’s appointment.
Ahmadi-nejad also lashed out at the Expediency Council in his letter.
“The management of the Expediency Council has tried to manipulate the [presidential] powers stipulated in the constitution…. It is an open heresy that includes a change in the constitution.”
The president is a member of the council, but Ahmadi-nejad has boycotted its meetings since the disputed 2009 presidential election, apparently to avoid having to sit there in a position subordinate to Rafsanjani.