Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman says will leave post soon

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 19 – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that he would soon be stepping down from his position, the government-run news agency Fars reported. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 19 – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that he would soon be stepping down from his position, the government-run news agency Fars reported.

Hamid-Reza Asefi did not specify exactly when he would be leaving the Foreign Ministry, nor did he confirm who would be replacing him.

Asefi had held the post for the past eight years.

Iran Focus previously reported that Asefi was to be sacked as part of a massive purge of Iran’s diplomatic service.

Government insiders say that he will be replaced by Mostafa Morseli, a hard-line figure who was Foreign Ministry spokesman during the tenure of Ali-Akbar Velayati as Foreign Minister. Velayati is now the chief foreign policy adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Asefi, a former ambassador to France, was close to the hard-line faction and had tried to align himself with the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.