"God willing, his successor in this organisation will soon be known," Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, chief of staff of Ahmadinejad's office, told the ISNA news agency.

Iran's parliament on Sunday endorsed Salehi as the Islamic republic's foreign minister.

Salehi, 61, who is also a vice president of the Islamic republic, has led the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran since July 2009.