Iran nuclear chief takes over as foreign minister

• Iran's nuclear chief has taken over as the country's interim foreign minister after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad abruptly fired his predecessor.
• Ali Akbar Salehi was introduced as the new top diplomat at a function at the Foreign Ministry on Saturday. The sacked minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, refused to attend in an apparent gesture of protest.
• Ahmadinejad fired Mottaki on Monday in the middle of an official visit to the African nation of Senegal.
• No reason was given, but the president may have wanted to install a figure more personally loyal to him as Tehran resumes critical talks with world powers over its nuclear program.