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30 There is no doubt that Ahmadinejad and Khamenei are at loggerheads. This is no surprise. As explained in a previous column all presidents have had trouble with the "Supreme Guide" of the time. Sharing power at the summit is always problematic. Unable to fly, a double-headed eagle often tears itself apart. Initially, Ahmadinejad angered Khamenei by scripting his group out of numerous juicy contracts and business deals. However, for the first time, the fight may also be about something more than personal power. Ahmadinejad has realised the bankruptcy of the Khomeinist discourse and is trying to replace it with a pseudo-nationalistic, and perhaps more dangerous, narrative in which the mullahs have no place. Khamenei may be trying to push Ahmadinejad to the brink in the hope that the president would lose his nerve and throw in the towel. However, Ahmadinejad might prove a tougher cookie than Khamenei apparently hopes. My guess is that Ahmadinejad will not jump and, if pushed, would not flee into exile as did the first President of the Islamic Republic Abol-Hassan Banisadr. Nor would Ahmadinejad kowtow to the "Supreme Guide" as did Rafsanjani and Muhammad Khatami. What about assassination? That is what happened to Muhammad-Ali Raja'i, the second President of the Islamic Republic. That Khamenei is attacking Ahmadinejad every day is a sign that the "Supreme Guide" is scared. According to a Persian proverb, like a snake, a mullah is most dangerous when frightened. Amir Taheri was born in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, and educated in Tehran, London and Paris. Taheri's latest book "The Persian Night" is published by Encounter Books in London and New York. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_029657