1.   Under the constitution, the supreme leader, appointed by conservative clerics, has the final say in matters of state.

2.   At issue today is the struggle between the newly elected moderate president, Mohammed Khatami, and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the profoundly conservative cleric.

3.   But nationally, conservative clerics still control dominate major institutions, and ultimate authority lies with the senior religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

4.   But progress for human rights in the face of the conservative clerics who hold power over the judiciary and the security forces is slow and fitful.

5.   But the more conservative clerics, who are anti-American, still wield strong control in Iran.

6.   If the conservative clerics were wise, they would bow to the reform movement instead of forcing events toward a confrontation.

7.   In that post, he showed himself willing to permit the circulation of books, magazines and films that more conservative clerics considered dubious or even subversive.

8.   It also came two years after the bishops conference rejected a more sweeping and much-revised pastoral letter on women that had been dominated by conservative clerics.

9.   Khatami, who has been trying to limit his conflicts with conservative clerics before an important parliamentary election, has been cautious in speaking out on this case.

10.   Khatami was finally sworn in on Wednesday, but he faces a protracted struggle with conservative clerics who have the institutional power to cripple his boldest initiatives.