Iranian vice president Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie denied quitting his post Monday after state run media announced in the morning that he had resigned following hardliner criticism. Mashaie, whose son is married to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s daughter, once said that Iran is a “friend of the Israeli people.”

Mashaie’s website said the reports he had quite were a fabrication. “Certain internet sites published a report about Mr. Mashaie’s resignation as first vice president in a coordinated action aimed at tarnishing the government,” his site read. “This is a lie, and these rumors have been spread by the enemies … of the government.”