Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi, Assembly of Experts member and representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the city of Kashan recently reported on his website that the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari, had asked Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.Khamenei for permission to arrest all those involved in an attempt to remove Khamenei and to harm the rule of the jurisprudent in Iran.

Namazi said that Khamenei had approved Jafari's request, but demanded that "the president of the country be spared."

In recent days, senior regime officials have called for the arrest of Rahim-Mashai, the director of Ahmadinejad's office.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself was warned by them that the schism between him and Khamenei could lead to his removal.

Namazi's website was shut down by authorities a short time after posting the report, but that the report had already been picked up and cited by other websites.

The office of Khamenei and the IRGC published a denial of the report, according to Iranian media.