Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Backlash Following Funeral for Venezuela's Hugo Chavez

At Telegraph UK, "Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticised for hugging mother of Hugo Chavez":

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of betraying Islam after he was pictured in an emotional embrace with the mother of Hugo Chavez at the late Venezuelan leader's funeral.

The Iranian president's domestic opponents reacted furiously after photos emerged of him giving Elena Frias de Chavez, 78, a consoling hug at last Friday's funeral in Caracas - at which he also kissed Mr Chavez's coffin.

Religious conservatives said the act insulted Iran's religious dignity and amounted to "haram" – a term used to describe a religiously forbidden act under Islamic rules.

Mohammad Taghi Rahbar, the Friday prayer leader of Iran's second city, Isfahan, told Mehr news agency that Mr Ahmadinejad had "lost control".

He added: "Shaking hands with a non-mahram (unrelated by family) woman, under any circumstances, whether young or old, is not allowed. Hugging or expressing emotions is improper for the dignity of the president of a country like the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Mohammad Dehghan, a member of the governing board of Iran's parliament, the Majles, said the episode exposed the true nature of the "deviant current", the term used by allies of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, to describe Mr Ahmadinejad and his allies.

Well, that's an internal power struggle at work. From Iran's strategic point of view, kiss the coffin is tantamount to flipping America the bird, and no one in Tehran has a problem that.

And notice at the end of the clip above, Raul Castro was right there at the casket. No protest against the kiss from him. The Axis of Evil lives, bigger than ever.