TEHRAN, Iran Iran's supreme leader acknowledges the country's Islamic rulers have lost some supporters in the turmoil following the disputed June presidential elections. The remarks by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday were his first public comments since street clashes between opposition supporters and security forces on Sunday left at least eight dead.

Iran's supreme leader says he will not be deceived by U.S. statements supporting reconciliation between the two nations.

Several Iranian websites, including the official site of Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have published details of an unusual encounter between Khamenei and a student who publicly criticized the Iranian establishment. The encounter took place in an October 28 meeting between Khamenei and students in Tehran, during which the supreme leader said that questioning the disputed June 12 vote was the "biggest crime."

It was near the end of a meeting Wednesday between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a group of university students when the man who is Iran's highest political and spiritual authority asked if there were any other questions.  He spotted a young man in the corner with his hand raised and called on him, asking him to go to the podium to speak through the public address system.  What followed was an extraordinarily candid 20-minute speech by the student, later identified as national math Olympiad winner Mahmoud Vahidnia, in which he publicly and explicitly criticized Khamenei for the government's conduct in the unrest that followed Iran's June 12 elections.

If it wasn't becuase of Mr. Khameneis recommendation, the cabinte would not have recieved the votes.

People in the know in Iran report that the hottest subject of discussion among Iranian conservative leaders these days is the issue of who is to succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is said to be suffering from leukemia. The same individuals report that the person most likely to take Khamenei's mantle is Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the powerful chief of the Judiciary, whose tenure is scheduled to end within weeks.

The son of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has taken control of the militia being used to crush the protest movement, according to a senior Iranian source.

Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei in a landmark Friday prayers policy speech laid down clear markers on the current presidential elections developments in the Islamic Republic.