Iran names acting foreign minister as top diplomat

Tehran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has presented the acting foreign minister to parliament to be approved as the new top ambassador for the nation.

Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, said in Sunday's parliament session that Ali Akbar Salehi had been put forward by the government as the new foreign minister.

The parliament will discuses the nominee in late January, added the speaker. Under the law any minister needs approval by the parliament.

Salehi is also head of Iran's nuclear department.

Earlier in December, Ahmadinejad fired Manouchehr Mottaki, his long-time minister and appointed Salehi as caretaker of the ministry. Dismissal of Mottaki prompted outcry among lawmakers.