The candidates include a Western-friendly diplomat as foreign minister and a female urban development minister.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian nominated a moderate diplomat as foreign minister and a female official as urban development minister as he presented his new government.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Sunday announced the names of the 19-minister government presented by the president during a session of the parliament that was broadcast live on state television.
The nominations appear in line with hopes that Pezeshkian’s election last month to replace hardline leader Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May, would lead to a thaw in Iran’s relations with the West.
However, the parliament, which is dominated by hardliners, will begin reviewing the candidates from Monday, and then vote on whether to confirm the lineup or not.
Pezeshkian has chosen Abbas Araqchi, a 61-year-old career diplomat, as foreign minister. Araqchi, who has praised open but critical engagement with the West, served as chief negotiator in nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers from 2013 to 2021.
He also served as Iran’s ambassador to Japan and Finland, and as deputy to then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was instrumental in reaching the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Farzaneh Sadegh has been nominated as minister of roads and urban development. If confirmed, the 48-year-old would become only the second Iranian woman to hold a ministerial position since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, after Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi became health minister in 2009.
However, several lawmakers voiced their opposition when the House speaker read her name during Sunday’s session.
on my nerves
The appointment of the new government comes as the world awaits Iran’s next move in response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Iran has blamed Israel for the young man’s killing and vowed a harsh response. Western leaders have called for restraint, saying any military action by Iran would risk turning the war in Gaza into a full-blown regional conflict.
Pezeshkian came to power promising to improve relations with the world and ease social restrictions at home. He is believed to fear that a major military confrontation with Israel would jeopardize his priorities.
General Aziz Nasirzadeh, the former commander of the Iranian Air Force, has been nominated to lead the Ministry of Defense.
The president appointed General Eskandar Momeni, a 60-year-old police chief and relatively moderate former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as interior minister.
Mohsen Paknejad, a 58-year-old executive with a long career in the country’s energy industry, has been nominated as oil minister.
In late July, Pezeshkian announced that he would “consult and coordinate” with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state affairs, to present the final list of ministers.
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