Ahmadinejad denies rumors of FM's resignation

The Iranian Mehr news agency quoted Wednesday two unnamed MPs from the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee as saying that Mottaki is said to have submitted his resignation.

Although no official confirmation has been made to this report, repeated rumors have been alluding to the possibility of Motakki's resignation. Prior to this post Motakki, 52, served as deputy foreign minister and the Iranian ambassador to Turkey and Japan.

Assumptions are that Motakki's resignation stems from his affiliation to Ali Larijani, the former leader of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), who also submitted his resignation at the end of last week. Larijani also ran for the presidency during the last elections and Motakki served as the head of his campaign headquarters.

The Iranian news agency Mehr reported that two parliament members in the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, noted that additional changes are likely to take place in Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet.

'Resignations not on the agenda'

This incident began over the weekend when Ahmadinejad's associate Said Jalili was appointed in Ali Larijani's place as the Secretary of the National Security Council, the Iranian equivalent of a defense minister. In the capacity of this position, he is also the head of Iran's nuclear negotiating team and responsible for diplomatic ties on nuclear matters vis-à-vis the European Union.

Political commentators have noted that a dispute between Ahmadinejad and Larijani over the handling of the nuclear crisis had erupted. Yet despite this, both had objected to halting the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear program.

It is likely that the crisis was related to Larijani's claim that during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran, the Russian president proposed a "new outlook" regarding the nuclear program, which Iran will be examining. Later the leadership denied Larijani's statement and clarified that no new proposal was discussed.

Ahmadinajad told Larijani Monday that despite his resignation, Iran's nuclear program will remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied the reports according to which Iran's foreign minister has quit his post.

"Mottaki took part in a government meeting until its conclusion today. If he would have quit, the resignation would have been submitted to the government. In principle, the issue of resignations is not on the agenda," Ahmadinejad said at the end of the meeting.