Iranian president says he's exhausted

Denies rumors of serious illness

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cites fatigue.

TEHRAN - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that he is suffering from exhaustion, and two allies said he was under strain from his job, in a rare disclosure apparently designed to combat rumors that the hard-line leader is more seriously ill.

A Parliament member who confirmed Ahmadinejad's illness accused opponents of using it as an excuse to cast doubt on whether the increasingly unpopular president will run for a second term next year.

"Those who use such a natural issue for psychological warfare will fail" to gain support in public opinion, said Parliament member Mohammad Ismail Kowsari. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, every Iranian president has been elected to a second term, except the first one, Abolhasan Banisadr, who fled the country in 1981.

The months ahead are critical for Ahmadinejad if he wants to try to rebuild his political base and rebut critics who point to his unfulfilled campaign promises, including his pledge to extend Iran's oil revenues to poorer provinces around the country.

With more than 10 percent unemployment and 30 percent inflation, Iran was unable to bask in record-high oil prices earlier this year. And now with oil prices falling, Iran is certain to face a budget squeeze that could severely complicate Ahmadinejad's last months before he faces a reelection campaign.

Ahmadinejad is also confronting questions about his uncompromising stance with the West over Iran's nuclear program, which has severely soured international relations. The United Nations has placed three rounds of sanctions against Iran since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005 because of the country's refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

Rumors that Ahmadinejad was seriously ill have been popping up for several months on some Iranian websites affiliated with the president's opponents. A cleric who supports him, Ayatollah Abolqasem Khazali, had even warned Ahmadinejad that his work habits could lead to hospitalization.

But a flurry of new rumors appeared after Ahmadinejad, who turns 53 today, canceled a speech on Wednesday and did not attend a Cabinet meeting the same day.

Ahmadinejad did attend a religious ceremony Saturday in Tehran, though he looked tired as he greeted supporters. State TV also showed him receiving credentials of three foreign ambassadors yesterday.

"Thank God, I do not have an illness. Exhaustion is possible, but no illness," Ahmadinejad told a reporter on the sidelines of a meeting in Tehran. The footage was aired on state television last night.

"Of course, we are also human beings, and sometimes we catch a cold," he said.

Earlier, Kowsari, an ally of the president, said the strain of his job had made Ahmadinejad sick, according to the state-run news agency, IRNA. But he played down the seriousness of Ahmadinejad's fatigue. "The president will eventually get better and continue working," he said.

Ahmadinejad has grown increasingly unpopular in Iran, even among some conservatives who say his policies have not done enough to help the ailing economy. In recent weeks, some supporters of Ahmadinejad have been discussing potential candidates for the June 2009 election, implying that the sitting president is not their automatic choice.