Tehran Fires 40 Top Diplomats in Shake-Up

TEHRAN — Iran’s government announced Wednesday that it was firing 40 ambassadors and senior diplomats, including supporters of warmer ties with the West.

The diplomatic changes are part of a government shake-up by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that includes putting Islamic hard-liners in key posts at security agencies. Some Iranians worry that the president will bring back strict social policies.

Ahmadinejad has steered the country into a more confrontational stance in its dealings with other nations, particularly when it comes to suspicions that Iran is illicitly trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge it denies.

On Wednesday, Iran met a key demand of the International Atomic Energy Agency and opened a high-security military site to United Nations inspectors looking for signs of a secret nuclear arms program, diplomats said.

One diplomat said, however, that Tehran also had told the U.N. agency that it would soon convert more raw uranium into gas -- the final step before an enrichment process that produces material that can be used either in generating electricity or in making atomic bombs.