TEHRAN - Iran said Tuesday its nuclear and foreign policies will not change after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abruptly fired Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and replaced him with the atomic chief.
No official reasons were given for the surprise move, but several Iranian newspapers on Tuesday linked it to disagreements between Ahmadinejad and Mottaki over foreign policy.
"Iran's major international policies are defined in higher levels and the foreign ministry executes these policies. We will not see any changes in our basic policies," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly briefing.
"I don't think there will be any changes in the nuclear policy and the talks" with world powers over Iran's nuclear programme, he said.
Ahmadinejad on Monday named Ali Akbar Salehi, a vice-president and head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, as interim foreign minister.