An advisor to the Iranian president describes making extensive alterations in Iran's foreign policy apparatus as the main reason for replacing the country's foreign minister, Press TV reported.
"During recent years we did not witness any significant change in the Foreign Ministry as was necessary and required by the government's current policies," IRNA quoted Ali Akbar Javanfekr as saying on Saturday.
On December 13, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi as the country's caretaker foreign minister.
In a separate letter issued on the same day, President Ahmadinejad expressed gratitude to former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki for his services during his tenure.
Salehi was officially inaugurated as Iran's caretaker foreign minister during a ceremony at the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
Salehi, formerly served as Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran owes the successes it has achieved in foreign policies to "the president's initiatives and his presence in different countries," Javanfekr added.
The Iranian official said inadequacies in foreign policy had necessitated the change.
Mottaki, who was appointed as Iran's foreign minister in August 2005, is the first minister to be replaced during President Ahmadinejad's second term in office which began in 2009.
The Iranian chief executive replaced 12 of his cabinet ministers during his first tenure from 2005 to 2009.
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