Interior Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi has also been replaced.

“Mr President told me that he has personally spoken to two of his cabinet members and asked them to serve the country in other positions,” says Gholam Hossein Elham, a government spokesman.

Just days ago, the Central Bank of Iran revealed that inflation reached 18.4 per cent in the year to 20 March.

Danesh-Jaafari said at the time: “The government failed to control inflation in the last Iranian year.” (MEED 07:04:08)

Both men will be replaced by caretaker ministers.

Ahmadinejad has to appoint permanent replacements within three months, according to the Iranian constitution.