Tehran Denies Reports on Foreign Minister's Resignation

GOOD RIDDANCE ! HOPEFULLY HE WILL GET LOST NOW
October 24, 2007 - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Tehran -- Tehran on Wednesday denied reports on resignation of Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Mehr news agency reported. Deputy foreign minister Mohammad Ali Shahidi told Mehr that all speculation in this regard was wrong and Mottaki would continue as minister.

Two unnamed Iranian members of parliament claimed earlier Wednesday that Mottaki had resigned.

Mehr news agency quoted the two MPs from the foreign policy and security commission as saying that Mottaki was said to have already rendered his resignation. Rumours about Mottaki's resignation are not new and several times denied by the foreign ministry, but despite the denials the local press still insists on reporting about it. So far seven members of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet - the central bank chief, the ministers for cooperatives, mines and metals, oil and social affairs, the vice-president and head of the planning and budget organization and most recently, the chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani -have resigned. Especially last weekend's resignation Larijani at the peak of the atomic dispute stirred not only local and international attention but also severe criticism within the Iranian political scene, even among circles close to Ahmadinejad. Both parliament as well as the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei not only regretted but also expressed their disagreement about the move. Although Larijani rejected any disagreement with Ahmadinejad, observers still believe that he was no longer willing to work with the president.