Cleric slams Ahmadinejad

Tehran: Iran's most senior cleric criticised President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for harming Iran with his nuclear diplomacy.

Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri supports Iran's nuclear programme and insists on Iran's right to have access to nuclear power.

Conservatives have also lashed at Ahmadinejad for concentrating too much on anti-US speeches and not enough on the economy.

"One has to deal with the enemy with wisdom, not provoke it," the cleric said of Iran's nuclear diplomacy. "This [provocation] only creates problems for the country," he told a group of reformists and opponents of Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad has promised to bring oil revenues to every family, erase poverty and tackle unemployment. He has faced fierce criticism for his failure to meet those promises.