TEHRAN -- Hassan Kazemi-Qomi has been promoted to Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, the Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.

Kazemi-Qomi was given the new post upon the proposal of Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and the approval of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Iran and the post-Saddam Iraq, Kazemi-Qomi has been acting as the Islamic Republic’s charge d’ affaires in Baghdad. He previously served as Iran’s head consul in Herat, Afghanistan.