Iranian President Under Fire for Hugging Chavez’s Mother
By Hafsa Fallah
Morocco News Tribune
Manchester, England | Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is under fire over a picture on Friday showing him consoling and hugging the distraught mother of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at his funeral, a gesture by Iran’s religious conservatives as “un-Islamic”, BBC reported.
“During Mr Chavez’s funeral in Caracas on Friday, Mr Ahmadinejad was photographed sympathising with Elena Frias de Chavez, 78,” the British news website reported.
The picture shows the Iranian president and Mr Chavez’s mother faces brushed against each other while their hands clasped signaling a moment of shared grief, according to AFP news agency.
On the other hand, Iranian government denied the picture belongs to the Iranan president, claiming the photograph was doctored up.
“They have doctored the picture or took it from an angle that appears to show they (Mr Ahmadinejad and Mrs Chavez) are in contact. There was no handshake,” said Mohammadreza Mir Tajeddini, an aide to the president.
