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Sat, Dec 18, 2010 | CNN Middle East

Iran's Nuclear Chief Ali Akbar Salehi (and now acting foreign minister) speaks during a press conference in Tehran on September 29, 2009. Iran will not freeze uranium enrichment work as it is its "sovereign" right, Salehi said. (ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran Installs Ali-Akbar Salehi as Acting Foreign Minister

Iran’s nuclear chief Ali-Akbar Salehi was installed as the country’s acting foreign minister on Saturday after the country’s longtime top diplomat Manouchehr Mottaki was ousted in a power play, CNN reported Saterday.

Ali-Akbar Salehi was inaugurated in a Foreign Ministry office ceremony five days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s abrupt dismissal of his predecessor.

Rumors of his impending ouster had been circulating for more than two years. After the United Nations imposed a fourth round of sanctions in June, conservatives stepped up their calls for Mottaki’s removal.

The ceremony was attended by first Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and other Foreign Ministry officials. Mottaki was absent.

Salehi is a former ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been attempting to monitor Iran’s nuclear program.

Read more here.