Iran leader endorses Ahmadinejad

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president for a new four-year term, describing him as courageous but telling him to listen to his critics. Khamenei, who has given his full backing to Ahmadinejad despite a political spat, described his protege as a courageous, astute and hardworking, and hailed his unprecedented victory on June 12. But he warned Ahmadinejad that the angry, wounded opposition would continue challenging his government and told him to heed the views of his critics, in a possible reference to a row between the president and his own conservative supporters.Key opposition leaders were absent from the ceremony, state television said. Ahmadinejad is to be sworn in before parliament on Wednesday.