The Mayor of Tehran, Gholam Hossein Karbaschi, will appear in court on Sunday today in a controversial corruption case which has stirred deep political turmoil in Iran.

Mr Karbaschi -- a reformist who helped bring President Khatami's to power last year -- was arrested in April.

His detention caused a political storm and he was released following the intervention of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But the conservative-led judiciary has insisted on prosecuting the case.