Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffers a fresh setback after supporters of the Supreme Leader make new gains in run-off parliamentary polls.

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Ahmadinejad in Iran poll setback

President Ahmadinejad was forced into an impromptu meeting with a woman in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas after she took the opportunity for a brief chat while sitting on the roof of his car.

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VIDEO: Woman leaps on Ahmadinejad’s car

TEHRAN — Iran’s outgoing parliament summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an unprecedented grilling Wednesday, but he spent much of the session deflecting their questions with jokes and mockery. After considering the move for months, the parliament, which has impeachment power, called in Ahmadinejad to answer accusations of economic mismanagement, illegal appointments and other allegations. Apparently encouraged by victories in the March 2 parliamentary elections , hard-line lawmakers seized the opportunity to summon the president before the legislature for the first time in the Islamic Republic’s history. The new 290-member parliament is slated to take office in May. Read full article > >

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Iran’s parliament summons a slippery Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN — In a new show of defiance against tightened sanctions, Iran on Wednesday threatened to cut oil exports to several European Union countries and unveiled advances in its nuclear fuel programs. In a day of fiery speeches, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also lashed out at the West, condemning the recent assassinations of Iranian scientists. Read full article > >

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Iran threatens to cut some oil exports to Europe, touts nuclear advances

Ahmadinejad says progress has been made.

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Iran: Nuclear Announcement Coming

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will announce major nuclear achievements in the next few days.

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Iran to make nuclear announcement

Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military influence in the United States’ back yard. Read full article > >

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Iran seeking to expand influence in Latin America

TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acknowledged Tuesday that U.S.-designed financial sanctions are causing serious problems for Iran’s banking sector, as he appealed to lawmakers to keep his government together despite a massive embezzlement scandal . “Our banks cannot make international transactions anymore,” the embattled president said in a speech before parliament to defend his minister of economic affairs and finance against impeachment charges related to the scandal. Read full article > >

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Ahmadinejad admits impact of sanctions on Iran

TEHRAN — A proposal by Iran’s supreme leader to radically alter the country’s constitution and abolish the presidency is drawing praise from his supporters but criticism from influential politicians. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader for life in 1989 by Shiite Muslim clerics, said in a speech last week that, if deemed appropriate, Iran could do without a president. The post is currently held by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose 2009 reelection was disputed by opponents and led to months of street protests. Read full article > >

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Iran’s supreme leader floats proposal to abolish presidency

UNITED NATIONS — American diplomats walked out of the U.N. General Assembly as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a fiercely anti-American speech. More than a dozen diplomats from other countries, including France, left the chamber soon afterward. Ahmadinejad attacked the United States for history of slavery, causing two world wars, using a nuclear bomb against “defenseless people,” and imposing and supporting military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes on Asian, African and Latin American nations. Read full article > >

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US, other nations walk out as Iranian leader delivers fiercely anti-American speech

The media circus generated by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s annual visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York is a source of great frustration for many Iranians, who wish Western journalists would ask tougher questions about Ahmadinejad’s domestic practices. The following questions are culled from Iranian democracy and human rights activists who don’t have a chance to query the president directly: Read full article > >

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Some human rights questions for Iran’s president

TEHRAN — Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he intends to grant a “unilateral pardon” to two Americans who have been jailed on charges of espionage for two years and release them this week. “I am helping to arrange for their release in a couple of days so they will be able to return home,” Ahmadinejad told The Washington Post in an hour-long interview at his office here. “This is of course going to be a unilateral humanitarian gesture.” Read full article > >

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Iran’s president says he intends to grant ‘unilateral pardon’ to two U.S. hikers

In a surprising turn, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran is calling for Syria to end its crackdown on antigovernment protesters.

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Iran’s President, Ahmadinejad, Calls for End to Syrian Crackdown

The power struggle between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may be as much political and economic as ideological.

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A Divine Wind Blows Against Iran’s President

One person is killed and at least 20 hurt in an explosion at an Iranian oil refinery coinciding with an opening ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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‘Blast’ at new Iran oil refinery