Mr Javanfekr’s conviction is the latest attempt by Mr Khamenei’s supporters to silence Mr Ahmadinejad, who has accused them of responsibility for the assault on the British Embassy in Tehran in November, and the failed assassination plot against the Saudi Arabian US ambassador. He also blames Khamenei loyalists for trying to prop up President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, trying to provoke a confrontation with the West over the Strait of Hormuz, the main shipping route to the Gulf, and trying to sabotage ties with neighbouring Turkey.