Iran on Saturday announced its top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has unexpectedly resigned at a time of growing tension with the West over the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear programme. Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said Larijani, a conservative but no natural political ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would be replaced by a deputy foreign minister who is seen as closer to the president.
Elham said Larijani, whose official title is secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, had already offered his resignation several times but only now had Ahmadinejad chosen to accept it.
"Larijani had resigned several times and finally the president accepted his resignation," state news agency IRNA quoted Elham as saying.
Rumours have been circulating in Iran for months that Larijani was unhappy and had offered to resign. But nothing had ever been confirmed by officials until now.
Elham offered no explanation for the resignation except to say that Larijani had "personal reasons" for stepping down.
"He said he wanted to have other activities in politics and had asked the president several times to resign from his post," he said, according to the Fars news agency.
The spokesman said that Larijani's replacement would be Saeed Jalili, a youthful deputy foreign minister born in 1965, who is seen by analysts as a close ally of Ahmadinejad.
"The resignation of Mr Larijani has been accepted and Saeed Jalili will be replacing him," Elham was quoted as saying, adding that the process to finalise the appointment was under way.
Political analyst Mohammad Sadegh al-Hosseini said that the appointment was made to increase Ahmadinejad's control over nuclear policy ahead of parliamentary elections on March 14 and a presidential poll in summer 2009.
"It is a step towards consolidating the camp of Ahmadinejad and shutting the door to any kind of differences," he said.
A top Iranian official, who asked not to be named, added that Larijani had political ambitions of his own.
"Larijani wants to play a more significant political role and perhaps become a member of parliament."
Larijani, who took on his post after Ahmadinejad's election in 2005, has led two years of sensitive talks with EU officials over Iran's nuclear programme.
He replaced the moderate negotiating team which had served under reformist president Mohammad Khatami and reversed the suspension of uranium enrichment that had been agreed with EU powers.
But his wordy and relatively moderate rhetoric always contrasted starkly with the populist president's confrontational and sometimes provocative statements on the nuclear standoff.
Elham added that Iran's next meeting with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, scheduled for Tuesday in Rome, would go ahead with Larijani's successor.
Iranian media, however, said it was still possible that Larijani would take part in the meeting in some capacity.
The resignation came a day after Ahmadinejad flatly contradicted a statement by Larijani that Russian President Vladimir Putin had handed over a message on Iran's nuclear programme during his landmark visit to Iran last week.
Despite several meetings during the past year, Larijani and Solana have failed to overcome the key sticking point in the dispute -- Tehran's refusal to suspend its sensitive uranium enrichment activities.
The West, led by the United States, believes that Iran's nuclear programme is cover for a drive to develop an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it only wants to generate electricity.
The UN Security Council has already imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities, a process that can be used both to make atomic fuel and, in highly enriched form, a nuclear weapon.
Frustrated by the slow pace in agreeing more UN sanctions, the United States and European allies such as France are now pushing for unilateral action to step up the economic pressure on Iran.
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