Iran on Saturday announced top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani had resigned, a move expected to strengthen President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's influence over policy in the atomic stand-off with the West.
Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said Larijani, a conservative but by no means a political ally of Ahmadinejad, would be replaced by deputy foreign minister Saeed Jalili, who is seen as closer to the president. Larijani's resignation, whose official title as negotiator was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, takes effect immediately.
However, he is to join his successor to participate in talks on Iran's nuclear programme with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Rome on Tuesday, Elham said.
He added that Larijani had already offered his resignation several times but only now had Ahmadinejad chosen to accept it. "Larijani had resigned several times and finally the president accepted his resignation," state news agency IRNA quoted Elham as saying. Rumours have been circulating in Iran for months that Larijani was at odds with Ahmadinejad and had offered to resign. But nothing had ever been confirmed by officials until now.