Iranian speaker: No split with president

TEHRAN, March 17 (UPI) -- Ali Larijani, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said Tuesday that there is no split between legislators and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Larijani was reacting to a question about a vote in which legislators rejected an amendment that would have changed energy subsidies in the budget for the March 2009 to March 2010 bill, the Fars News Agency reported.

"Parliament and President Ahmadinejad share mutual respect for each other," Larijani said. "Any country ruled by democracy faces such matters."

He described the disagreement over the budget as "normal."

In parliament, 132 members rejected the amendment, 102 favored it and nine abstained.