Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's choice as first vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, has walked away from the job, state media reported on Sunday. Mashaie, a controversial politician and confidant of Ahmadinejad, has "resigned three days after his appointment" as first vice president, state-owned English-language channel Press TV reported.The channel initially sourced its report to the Education Ministry-funded news agency, Pana. In its news item, Pana said, "The content of his resignation letter will be published soon." There was no immediate independent confirmation of Mashaie's resignation. The appointment was strongly opposed by lawmakers and clerics among Ahmadinejad's own support base.
Mashaie, whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad's son, is an outspoken figure who last year earned the wrath of many Iranians, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for saying Iran is a "friend of the Israeli people". In his current role as vice president in charge of tourism he sparked ire among MPs for reportedly watching a group of women dance at a congress in Turkey in 2007.
Since the announcement of Mashaie's appointment on Friday, there has been a chorus of criticism from hardliners. "It is imperative to terminate the appointment of Mashaie as first vice president in order to respect the wishes of the majority of the people," said Hossein Shariatmadari, managing director of the Kayhan newspaper. "When people found out about the appointment, they viewed this move as one taken not just in bad taste... but as one which shows indifference," he wrote in an editorial.
Leading cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami also slammed Mashaie's nomination. "This appointment has been made in defiance of the members of the Assembly of Experts, the majlis (parliament) and several leading figures who have often mentioned that the post is a sensitive one," the Jam-e Jam newspaper quoted Khatami as saying.