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                <p>TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended a Cabinet meeting Sunday after more than a week's absence that raised tension with the country's supreme leader, state TV reported.</p>
                <p>The recent confrontation between Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei involved the president's dismissal last month of the country's most powerful intelligence chief, Heidar Moslehi.</p>
                <p>Khamenei quickly reinstated Moslehi in a slap to Ahmadinejad. In apparent protest, the president skipped two Cabinet meetings this past week.</p>
                <p>Ahmadinejad's decision to back down and attend is likely an attempt to avoid backlash from Khamenei, who has been a strong supporter of the president. That relationship could be fraying by Ahmadinejad's repeated attempts to push the limits of his powers.</p>
                <p>Last week, Khamenei made a rare public rebuke to Ahmadinejad, saying he will not hesitate to intervene in government affairs whenever necessary.</p>
                <p>A serious fall from Khamenei's favor would leave Ahmadinejad's clout seriously diminished and test the loyalty of his main supporters, including the Revolutionary Guard that will have a central role in picking the candidates for his successor in 2013.</p>
                <p>Any split between Khamenei and Ahmadinejad could also destabilize Iran at a time of tension with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.</p>
                <p>Morteza Aghatehrani, one of the participants in Sunday's Cabinet meeting, told the official IRNA news agency that Ahmadinejad expressed support for Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.</p>
                <p>Aghatehrani, a lawmaker and cleric, also claimed that Ahmadinejad was sick over the past week, implying his absence from the Cabinet meetings was not related to the political dispute.</p>
                <p>Khabaronline.ir, a conservative news website, reported that Moslehi, the intelligence chief, was not present at Sunday's meeting, but the report could not be independently verified.</p>
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