News

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demoted six senior foreign policy aides after the country's supreme leader criticized their appointments as special envoys, a state-owned newspaper reported Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad's decision to name close aides from outside the Foreign Ministry as special envoys to six regions — the Middle East, Asia, Caspian Sea, Afghanistan, Africa and Latin America — sparked sharp criticism from opponents, who argued the president was overstepping his authority.