last realised his own desperate situation. In Tehran, Rahim-Mashaee is now daily being denounced as a "deviant" – another dangerous expression in the lexicon of the Islamic Republic – and the president is supposedly prepared at last to sacrifice his chief adviser to save his own skin. The fact that a senior official in the government was prepared this week, privately, to predict to me his possible demise, suggests that it may be too late.

Possible Successors

Ali Akbar Salehi

Iran's Foreign Minister and former envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog is believed to be a favourite to succeed President Ahmadinejad.

Mohammed Sharif Malekzadeh

Previously viewed as one of Ahmadinejad's closest allies, Iran's former deputy foreign minister was forced to resign after only a few days in the job before being arrested oncorruption charges last week.

Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee

Ahmadinejad's chief-of-staff is not only one of the President's closest political advisers, his daughter is also married to the Iranian leader's son. A leaked US cable made public in April added fuel to speculation that Ahmadinejad favours Mashaee as his successor.

Ali Asghar Parhizkar

Head of the Arvand free trade zone in southern Iran, Parhizkar was also arrested on charges of corruption last week.

Ali-Reza Moqimi