THANK GOODNESS THEY'RE EXTENDING THOSE JOBLESS BENEFITS – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  From AP:

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fired his foreign minister and named the nuclear chief to serve as the country's acting top diplomat.

In a brief statement on the president's website Monday, Ahmadinejad thanked Manouchehr Mottaki for his more than five years of service but gave no explanation for change.

Over the past year, Iranian media have reported that lawmakers were pushing for Mottaki to be dismissed if more U.N. Security Council sanctions were imposed in response to the country's nuclear program. According to the reports, the lawmakers argued that he was not a strong or persuasive enough advocate for Iran on the international stage.

COMMENT:  It's so hard to get good help these days.  The importance of this story is that it will give ammunition to those who believe the sanctions are hurting Iran, and that Ahmadinejad is trying to find scapegoats.  The problem with that argument is that, even if some of the sanctions are biting, it does not logically flow that Iran will alter its nuclear program.  There are no signs of that anywhere.

December 13, 2010