Iran's tourism dept. to be taken off presidency following Israel remark

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
State radio says parliament has voted in principle to support a bill to take away responsibility for Iran's Tourism Department from the president's office. The Sunday report says lawmakers will discuss the bill's details at a later, unspecified date. If it becomes law, the Tourism Department will be placed under the Culture Ministry. The move is apparently a reaction to recent remarks by the department's head and vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, that Iranians were "friends of all people in the world - even Israelis." Mashai's August remarks sparked calls for his dismissal, but Ahmadinejad appears to be standing by his vice president.