Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked first Vice President Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie.

In a statement, Mr Masahie said the order had come directly from supreme leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei. Last year Mr Mashaie, then minister in charge of tourism, angered conservative hard-liners saying Iran was "a friend of the Israeli people". President Ahmadinejad had so far refused to fire the vice-president, saying he was a loyal defender of the Islamic republic.