Khamenei says goodbye to Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN, July 15 (UPI) -- The efforts of the administration of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be recognized by the public, the nation's supreme leader said.

Ahmadinejad leaves office in August after two consecutive four-year terms. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the nation should recognize the administration's service to the Islamic republic.

"Some even deny the administration's concrete actions, but what matters is that the efforts and attempts be expressed and recorded in the country's public scene," he was quoted Sunday as saying by state-funded broadcaster Press TV.

A special Iranian court in 2011 charged Hojjatoleslam Abbas Amirifar with sorcery. He led a cultural council for Ahmadinejad and was considered a close aide to the president's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

Mashaei was dismissed as a candidate for 2013 elections by a 12-member vetting council.

Ahmadinejad was at odds with Khamenei over a series of ministerial positions for much of his presidential tenure. Ahmadinejad tried to sack Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi because the intelligence agency was allegedly spying on Mashaei. Khamenei blocked the firing.

Former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rouhani will be sworn in as Iran's next president in August. Khamenei, however, holds near-absolute power in Iran.