Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has run into trouble with a conservative cleric over whether men are allowed to wear ties in the Islamic republic, the news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday.
"I say to him that many religious dignitaries believe ties should not be worn," said Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, who is normally a close ally of the president, a fellow hardliner.
"The supreme guide (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) himself has said in a fatwa (religious edict) that the wearing of ties or bow ties is not permitted," Khatami said.
In the latest such controversy, Ahmadinejad has gone on record as saying that no religious leader has banned the tie, which since the 1979 Islamic revolution has been regarded as a symbol of Western culture.
But the tie has in past years been making a comeback in Iran, especially at events such as weddings and funerals.
Khatami also criticised the president for saying it was not a problem for a man to shave his beard. "I call on Mr Ahmadinejad not to take up complicated religious questions because this weakens the government," he said.
In June, the Iranian president aroused the wrath of fellow hardliners and several top Shi'ite clerics for criticising a police crackdown on improperly veiled women.
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