The decree by President Ebrahim Raisi will see Shamkhani replaced after he had been linked to an alleged British-Iranian spy recently executed. However, Shamkhani also had key in negotiations with Gulf Arab states as they sought to de-escalate tensions with Tehran, including being on hand for the announced détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia reached in Saudi Arabia.

Shamkhani's replacement will be Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the former chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's strategic center.

The decree, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, offered no explanation for the change. Shamkhani had served in the position for just under a decade.