Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinjad was reportedly slapped in the face by Revolutionary Guard Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Jafari, according to a recently released cable obtained by WikiLeaks.
According to the cable, Ahmadinejad took a "liberal" position on Iran's opposition protests which surprised the security council. According to the cable, the Iranian president warned that the country's people felt "suffocated" and that more personal freedoms — including more freedom for the press — may help to defuse tensions in Tehran.
But the talk of freedoms apparently angered Chief of Staff Jafari. The Feb. 11, 2010, cable reads:
According to source, Ahmedinejad's statements infuriated Revolutionary Guard Chief of Staff Mohammed Ali Jafari, who exclaimed "You are wrong! (In fact) it is YOU who created this mess! And now you say give more freedom to the press?!" Source said that Jafarli then slapped Ahmedinejad in the face, causing an uproar and an immediate call for a break in the meeting, which was never resumed.
Source said that SNSC did not meet again for another two weeks, after Ayatollah Janati succesfully acted as a "peacemaker" between Jafarli and Ahmedinejad. Source added that the break in the SNSC meeting, but not the slap that caused it, has made its way on to some Iranian blogs.
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