Their leader intervenes, stopping Claire violently.

The leader had intervened in that argument, too, saving Lymeen from a pounding.

But he said without elaboration: "If the leader had not intervened in this issue, in which he solved a part of it, we should have expected other consequences."

It was unclear on Saturday whether the supreme leader had in fact intervened in the final hours before registration drew to a close.

The massacre provoked international revulsion and ultimately helped prompt United States and European leaders to intervene and bring an end to the three-year-long conflict.

During deliberations, leaders can intervene when debates get heated.

The leader intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates corrective action to improve performance.

Only then - at least until today - did the supreme leader intervene to make a final decision about the constitutionality of a measure.

Before long, alarmed Shiite clerics and political leaders quietly intervened to take control of incriminating documents.