Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm not sure how Iran can recover from this political move.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/world/middleeast/14iran.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the country’s long-time foreign minister on Monday, a sudden move that caught many here by surprise and appeared to reflect a strengthening of the president’s power.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said in a presidential order that he had dismissed the minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, who was currently traveling on an official trip in Senegal. The overseas location of Mr. Mottaki at the time of his dismissal made the announcement even more intriguing.

It has been well known that the Iranian leader had long sought to replace Mr. Mottaki but had been prevented from doing so until now by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in appointing the heads of several key ministries.

The move was a victory for the president and an apparent extension of his powers, though it remained unclear what changes at the upper echelon of Iranian politics allowed for the firing.

President Ahmadinejad appointed Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, as the country’s acting foreign minister until a permanent replacement is found.

In a separate letter issued on Monday, Mr. Ahmadinejad expressed gratitude to Mr. Mottaki for his services during his five-year tenure. "Hereby, I thank you for your services as efforts during your tenure in the Foreign Ministry," read the letter.

Mr. Mottaki, who was the face of Iran to much of the West, had served as foreign minister since Mr. Ahmadinejad was first elected in 2005. He did not immediately react to the news, which appeared to catch even the state-run Iranian media by surprise.

He'll probably blame america or the UK.

Mr Mottaki was fired whilst he was visiting Senegal. When his flght returned and his plane safely landed back in Iran, I wonder where Mr Mottaki landed? Was it in an uncontrolled descent from 10,000 feet landing seperately, and unaided by parachute, from his plane?