Ahmadinejad's government lashes out at Khatami

Iran's government spokesman has launched a blistering attack on former President Mohammad Khatami, saying he was yielding to the United States with his cherished "Dialogue of Civilizations" plan, media reported on Thursday.

Since handing over power to his successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the reformist Khatami has devoted his energies to the center he has founded to promote dialogue among the world's cultures and religions.

"With this plan we bowed in front of the system of domination and we said 'We are backward, we should learn democracy from you,'" the Etemad newspaper quoted government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham as saying.

"When Iran put forward this plan we showed passivity and obeisance," Elham told students in a speech on Tuesday at Shahed University outside Tehran.

The attack comes during the build-up to parliamentary elections on March 14, with forces linked to Khatami and other reformists hoping to launch a comeback after years in the cold. More