Iranian lawmakers loyal to the conservatives in the parliament warned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of taking any step that will lead to the dismissal or resignation of Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. This came following Ahmadinejad's appointment of personal envoys without any coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Al Arabiya, the deputies sharply criticized the president and warned that Mottaki's dismissal would not go without a response and called on him to follow the instructions of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on respecting the law, with emphasis that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is is the responsibile for managing Iran's relations with foreign states.
Sources said that following the appointments, Mottaki threatened to step down. The Minister also criticized the President in the cabinet meeting, after one of his aides spoke about the massacre of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. This remark angered Ankara.
Mottaki suggested that these statements hamper the efforts of his ministry to ease the burden of international sanctions.
