Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, told an audience that Ahmadinejad had asked his advice on whether to run for president next May, and that he had responded that it was “not in the best interests of the country.”

“Society is divided,” said Khamenei, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. “Unity among officials and people should prevail.”

The comments were seen as the last nail in the political coffin for Ahmadinejad, the populist conservative who was one of the West’s most reliable antagonists during his eight years in office.