First Vice President of Iran Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie resigned, Iranian mass media report, referring to Iranian Presidential Adviser Mojtaba Samare Hashemi.
According to him, Mashaie voluntary terminated his service. However, the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei played a crucial role in the matter by demanding Mashaie’s dismissal.
Particularly, he told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Mashaie should not hold one of the key government posts.
Conservative politicians of Iran negatively responded to Mashaie’s appointment, as they could not forgive him saying Israel and US are Iran's friends.
