Rafsanjani: No Iranian power struggle

TEHRAN, July 27 (UPI) -- There is no power struggle between Iran's top clerics over the results of last month's disputed presidential election, Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says.

Speaking Sunday to the Mehr news agency, the former Iranian president rejected assertions of a power struggle between himself and supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as "propaganda by the foreign media," Iran's state-supported Press TV reported.

"The propaganda by the foreign media who seek to portray that there is a power struggle in the top level of the country is indeed unfair injustice to the Islamic Revolution," Rajsanjani said. "The current differences are only related to the (June 12) election and its aftermaths. If these disputes are settled, the row will end."

Rajsanjani backed challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi over incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mousavi says the election results giving Ahmadinejad another term were fraudulent, sparking weeks of violent protests. Rafsanjani this month asserted the controversy had shaken the trust of many Iranians in the establishment, the broadcaster said.

On Sunday, Rafsanjani indicated he had faith in Khamenei, saying, "He is a progressive and forward-looking thinker in different issues."