Presidential Peck Sets Off Iranian Sex Scandal

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is at the center of an unlikely sex scandal today, after being caught on camera kissing the hand—even if it was gloved—of a retired schoolteacher. Ahmadinejad's sexy faux pas, at a ceremony honoring the country's teachers, is a violation of Shariah law, hard-liners say.

"This type of indecency progressively has grave consequences, like violating religious and sacred values," the right-wing newspaper Hezbollah wrote. Ahmadinejad—hardly known abroad for his permissive attitudes—has been seen at home as something of a maverick on women's issues, even offering a widely criticized suggestion last year that they be able to attend soccer matches. (More Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stories.)