Iran s parliament is set to summon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning over an economic scandal and his polices after the required number of lawmakers signed a petition Sunday, the latest salvo in a long battle between the president and his rivals.

Every summer, Iranian police get tough on women who violate the country s strict Islamic dress code by adjusting their veils and long coats to try to cope with the rising temperatures. But this year, amid the annual crackdown, the issue of how women wear the veil - and what the government does about it - has become part of an intensifying rift between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and powerful Shiite clerics.

Iran's constitutional watchdog rebuked the president Wednesday for trying to merge Cabinet ministries without parliamentary approval - the latest sign of discord at the highest levels of the ruling Islamic system in Tehran.