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TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is replacing 40 of its ambassadors, including some who voiced support for "rioters" during the unrest that erupted after June's disputed election, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Commenting on the report, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran had more than 130 diplomatic missions abroad and that replacing about 45 envoys each year was normal, state broadcaster IRIB said on its website.

He said such replacements usually happened during the summer. IRIB's report made no mention of any of the ambassadors allegedly backing post-election protesters.

Citing informed sources, Fars said late on Tuesday that the envoys were given notification that their diplomatic postings had been terminated. It did not give details on which ambassadors were affected.

"Some of these people officially took positions during the recent riots in Iran in support of rioters," Fars said. "It is supposed that the new ambassadors will be selected from com... >>>