Iran's Ahmadinejad Calls for Purge of Liberal Teachers

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Tuesday for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported in another step back to 1980s-style radicalism.

"Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities," the agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a meeting with a group of students.

Ahmadinejad complained that changes in the country's universities were difficult to accomplish, but said, "The job for such a change has begun."