Iran’s new president submits ministerial nominations to Parliament

Tehran, Aug 11 (EFE).- Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi submitted the list of proposed ministers to Parliament on Wednesday, a week after he took his oath of office.

Raisi chose 19 conservative ministers with political and military experience for the cabinet, according to the list that is expected to be confirmed by Parliament next week.

Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the former deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, was nominated for the foreign affairs minister position.

Javad Owji, the managing director of the state-run gas company NIGC, and Ahmad Vahidi, former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were picked as the minister of petroleum and the interior minister, respectively.

Several of those chosen by Raisi were ministers during the time when ultra-conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was president between 2005 and 2013.

Ali Nikzad, the deputy speaker of the parliament, announced the legislative body will receive the list of nominees on Saturday and will then discuss it in an open session.

Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei requested the formation of the government and its ratification by Parliament to take place in a hasty manner.

Raisi assumed power against a backdrop of a crippling economic crisis and water and power shortages in the country amid stalled negotiations with Western powers to rescue the 2015 nuclear agreement.

He garnered 62% of the votes in June’s presidential election, which was marked by a low turnout and an absence of strong rival candidates. EFE

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