Iran nominates nuclear chief for FM

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has nominated the Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the caretaker Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi as the country's foreign minister, the state IRIB TV website reported on Sunday.

Ahmadinejad presented Salehi, who is also Iran's vice president, to the Majlis (parliament) in a letter on Sunday to be approved as the foreign minister, said the report.

Iranian parliament will discuss the nomination of Salehi and the preparations for the vote of confidence in the following week, said the state TV.

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was dismissed by Ahmadinejad on Dec. 13, the first reshuffle in Ahmadinejad's second term in office, when he was on an African trip and was temporarily replaced by Salehi.

Source:Xinhua