TEHRAN — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement last week that he would pardon two jailed American hikers, only to be overruled the next day by his own judiciary, has caused him international embarrassment at a time when he is seeking better relations with the West. But Iranian political analysts say the episode is a carefully planned political move aimed at helping Ahmadinejad domestically by exposing his rivals in the Islamic Republic’s clerical establishment as stubborn and reactionary — while portraying him as reasonable. Read full article >>