In Iran, President’s Deputy Is Stepping Down: Via NYTimes.com .

In the latest sign of dissension within Iran’s conservative ranks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s new deputy withdrew Friday in response to a letter demanding his removal written by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state television and news agencies reported.

The resignation resolved a week of acrimony over the deputy, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who had drawn fierce criticism from hard-liners over comments he made last year that were friendly to Israel. It also underscored the authority within Iran’s Islamic political system of Ayatollah Khamenei, whose handwritten letter — made public by state television on Friday — appeared to have overridden Mr. Ahmadinejad’s persistent refusal to dismiss his trusted deputy.

The dispute may also be a sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad is more vulnerable to conservative rivals in the wake of last month’s disputed presidential election, analysts said.

The existence of Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter was made public several days ago, but Mr. Ahmadinejad refused to back down, despite a withering campaign by conservatives. The criticism peaked on Friday, when hundreds of hard-line students rallied in Tehran to demand Mr. Mashaei’s ouster and a prominent ayatollah chastised Mr. Ahmadinejad for flouting the supreme leader’s wishes.

Finally, Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter was cited in full on state television late Friday, in a gesture apparently meant to force the issue.

The promotion of Mr. Mashaei was “contrary to your interests and the interests of the government, and will be a cause of division and distress among your supporters,” the letter stated. “The appointment must be reversed.”

Even then, Mr. Ahmadinejad appears not to have fired Mr. Mashaei. Instead, a top presidential aide, Mojtaba Samara Hashemi, told the official IRNA news agency that “Mashaei doesn’t consider himself first vice president” in the wake of Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter.

For the past week, Mr. Ahmadinejad has faced a barrage of criticism on two fronts: conservatives angry over the promotion of Mr. Mashaei, and a smoldering opposition movement that continues to organize street protests and to reject his re-election last month as fraudulent. This week Mir Hussein Moussavi, the opposition leader who many Iranians believe was the true winner of the June 12 election, announced that he was creating a new political front.

The opposition gained another rallying point on Friday with the news of the death of another protester, this one with links to Iran’s political elite. Mohsen Ruholamini — whose father, Abdolhussen Ruholamini, is an adviser to another presidential candidate, Mohsen Rezai — died in custody at Evin prison after being arrested during demonstrations on July 9, opposition Web sites said, citing relatives.

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