Tehran, July 25 (DPA) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pick for first vice president officially withdrew from the post after the supreme leader ordered Ahmadinejad to sack his deputy, the ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

'Following the order by the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), I do not consider myself as first vice president anymore and will serve the people wherever else needed,' Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaie said in a short statement carried by ISNA.

Media reports Friday night said the supreme leader had rejected Ahmadinejad's pick and ordered him fired.

'It is necessary that the appointment is cancelled,' Khamenei said in a letter to the president, adding that the appointment of Rahim-Mashaie as first vice president was neither to Ahmadinejad's nor the government's advantage and would only lead to differences among the president's supporters.

Ahmadinejad appointed Rahim-Mashaie last week as first vice president, making him de-facto acting president until Ahmadinejad's inauguration early next month. Ahmadinejad won a second term in a June 12 election, which the opposition said was marred by fraud.