DUBAI: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was summoned yesterday to appear before a criminal court on unspecified charges leveled by a conservative rival, days after moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani was elected his successor.

While Rowhani’s election on Friday showed a desire for change, it also highlighted divisions among Iran’s establishment conservatives who, though united in their dislike of Ahmadinejad, were unable to rally behind a single candidate.

The summons was issued by a Tehran court and follows a complaint by Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. It did not elaborate on the complaint, saying only that Ahmadinejad would face the unnamed charges in November.

Ahmadinejad, who will leave office in August after Rowhani’s inauguration, was not immediately available for comment.

The court summons could be a taste of things to come for the outgoing leader who, after receiving the backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to suppress protests against his re-election in 2009, later fell foul of the supreme leader for challenging his ultimate authority. In February, Ahmadinejad tried to strike back and, addressing Parliament, played a recorded conversation of Larijani’s brother he said implicated the family in corruption.

The stunt backfired as the tape was not fully audible and Larijani dismissed the president from the chamber.

Ahmadinejad has hinted he has incriminating material on a number of prominent figures and has threatened to reveal it should his personal position or safety come under threat.