Our buddy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the apocalyptic Iranian president, appears to be facing some hardships in Tehran among Iranian politicians, Iranians and the Mullahs who actually run the nation.

“One has to deal with the enemy with wisdom,” [Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri] said. “We should not provoke the enemy, otherwise the country will be faced with problems.

“We should get our right in a way that it does not create problems or excuses for others,” he said. (source)

There’s always a mixed bag though when it comes to Iranian actions.  A newspaper owned by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has criticized Ahmadinejad’s firm stance with respect to Iran’s nuclear program and the UN actions against the nation.

Even so, Iran also announced they will bar 38 IAEA nuclear inspectors from Tehran in retaliation of the UNSC vote to impose sanctions upon Iran.  Not every IAEA inspector is barred from Iran, which likely means Iran is picking and choosing which inspectors should enter the nation on behalf of the IAEA and the UN.  Iran has done this in the past, calling for the ouster of Chris Charlier when Charlier came to the conclusion Iran’s nuclear program was designed for military purposes.  The IAEA capitulated to Iran’s protests over Charlier, and it appears they will do the same for the 38 nuclear inspectors Iran has decided should not be a part of the IAEA inspection team.

It’s not just Iran’s nuclear program which has Ahmadinejad facing his own political apocalypse.  It’s also Iran’s economy which has struggled since the nation decided nuclear energy was a must as opposed to using the vast oil and natural gas reserves within its borders to power the nation’s power grids.