European states reject Iran’s envoys

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

A number of officials appointed by the government of hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the posts of Iran’s ambassadors to European countries have been rejected by the host countries, a state-run daily reported on Wednesday.

As part of a purge of the Islamic Republic’s diplomats who did not belong to the ultra-Islamist faction, in October Ahmadinejad ordered the recalling of 40 of the country’s ambassadors and envoys, nearly half of the fleet. These included Iranian ambassadors in European countries, who were involved in Tehran’s nuclear negotiations with the West. READ MORE

The daily Etemaad quoted anonymous Majlis (Parliament) deputies as saying that several European countries had refused to accredit the prospective envoys.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry was trying to find replacement candidates, the report said.

It also said that there was a possibility that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi would be sacked.

Iran Focus reported in November that Asefi was to be fired soon and replaced by former Foreign Ministry spokesman Mostafa Morseli.