Ahmadinejad under fire for hugging Chavez's mother

Senior Iranian clerics have scolded President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for consoling Hugo Chavez's mother with a hug _ a physical contact considered a sin under Iran's strict Islamic codes.

The rebuke follows a widely published photo showing Ahmadinejad embracing Chavez's mother at the funeral of the late Venezuelan president in what is seen as taboo-breaking behavior in Iran. (AP)