Iranian parliament approves new Cabinet
Aug 22, 2024
Tehran [Iran], August 22: Iran's parliament approved the new Cabinet of President Masoud Pezeshkian, with representatives agreeing to all 19 candidates, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reported on Wednesday.
A woman has been appointed for the second time in the history of the Islamic Republic: Farzaneh Sadegh is to head the Ministry for Roads and Urban Development. The new foreign minister is Abbas Araghchi, an experienced diplomat and former chief negotiator of the Vienna nuclear agreement.
Esmaeil Khatib, who is subject to US sanctions, retains the post of information minister and head of the intelligence service, which he held under the presidency of the late Ebrahim Raisi. Eskandar Momeni, who is an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and former deputy head of the prosecution office, takes the role of interior minister.
Amin-Hossein Rahimi stays on as justice minister.
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi returns to the post he held from 2017-21 under the presidency of Hassan Rowhani. New Finance Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati is a former governor of the Central Bank of Iran and was a presidential candidate in 2021.
Pezeshkian came in for criticism from his own supporters for his nominations. One of his closest allies, former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, withdrew as vice president after just 11 days in protest at the conservative nature of the proposed Cabinet.
The Iranian president is not the head of state. True power lies in the hands of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Source: Qatar Tribune
