In a move whose timing is surprising many, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed Foreign Minister Manouecher Mottaki from his position, and interestingly enough did so while Mottaki was overseas on an official state visit to Senegal.
The reason for Mottaki’s sacking was unclear, and the Iranian state media provided no insight beyond Ahmadinejad thanking Mottaki for his five years of service in the role, but some analysts believe it is an attempt by Ahmadinejad to install more closely loyal people in higher ranking positions.
To that end, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) chief Ali Akbar Salehi has been announced as the acting Foreign Minister. It is unclear so far if he will be presented to Iran’s parliament as a permanent replacement.
Salehi’s selection is also something of a surprise as he is a career academic with a physics doctorate from MIT, and has only previously held positions as a scientific advisor, beyond his year and a half at the head of the AEOI.
What's interesting is that the US media are making a big deal out of this. It's a hiccup. And Mottkai has not exactly been successful, depending on how one looks at it.
Salehi is an eloquent man:
"“I have a lot of respect for the US…For the people of the US. And I’ve always said this: I do not consider the US as a country. I think the US belongs to the whole human kind. It’s a human heritage…I don’t think history will be able to produce another country like the US. Because it’s a country that has served humanity so much, in terms of technology, in terms of science…Most of my professors were from the US. Even my Bachelor’s degree is from the American University of Beirut. Again I had a lot of US professors there. I feel indebted to them. This is part of my religion. You know, whoever teaches you something, you are indebted to them for your life. So my respect goes for the entire US people. But you see this is different when it comes to the actions of their government.” "
http://www.raceforiran.com/
This kind of eloquence is precisely what Iran needs. And Salehi's appointment shows Ahmadinejad's willingness to work with others who don't see the world precisely the way he does, and who have talents he doesn't have. Those are good signs.
Although it's very likely that this has been a long time coming, I bet the media reports of Mottaki giving Clinton the cold shoulder didn't do him any favors with Ahmadinejad's administration. Iranian culture doesn't look favorably upon rudeness, no matter who the object of the rudeness is.