Iran's parliament on Sunday officially endorsed atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi as the Islamic republic's foreign minister, who told lawmakers the nuclear issue was a key part of foreign policy. Salehi's candidacy was endorsed by 146 of the 241 lawmakers who voted in the conservative-dominated parliament on Sunday, state television reported on its website.
"The nuclear issue is one of the important agendas of the foreign policy," Salehi said in his address to the parliament prior to the vote.
Iran is at loggerheads with the West over its controversial nuclear programme and the latest round of talks between the two groups broke down in Istanbul earlier this month.
Salehi, 61, who is also a vice president, oversees Iran's nuclear programme and during his tenure the country's first nuclear power plant has come on line.