Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his would-be successor, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, are planning a coup to dismantle the cleric-run power structure of the government, The Times of Israel reports. Mr. Ahmadinejad, whose term ends in August and who is supporting his chief of staff, Mr. Mashaei, to take his place, is plotting an “extraordinary attack” against Iran’s clerics to “separate mosque and state,” the Times of Israel says. Iran's government is a theocracy, and Mr. Ahmadinejad has had a tenuous relationship with clerics, who have tried — without much success — to subdue his power.