AfriqueCAN
Iran’s parliament gave a “vote of confidence” to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s proposed ministers on Wednesday, officially establishing his government.
Pezeshkian previously said he had secured approval from the “highest levels of the system” for all his appointees.
Pezeshkian took power in Iran after winning a snap election last month, following the death of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.
Before the parliamentary vote, Pezeshkian underscored that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had approved the appointments. He also noted that he had reached agreements with the Ministry of Intelligence, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other intelligence agencies, which led to the final list.
The president said that the backgrounds of the appointees presented to parliament were “clear” and that potential candidates “who had even the slightest doubts about them were excluded from the lists without us needing to make any further comments.”
The review of the proposed ministers began Saturday and continued through Wednesday.
Before the parliamentary vote, President Pezeshkian emphasized that his administration’s plans are to implement and pursue the “general policies of the system,” as outlined by Khamenei.
Pezeshkian also noted that Khameini selected the only woman in the Cabinet, Housing and Road Minister Farzaneh Sadegh.
Typically, the supreme leader must approve the top official of key ministries in the Islamic Republic.
According to the published votes, Aziz Nasirzadeh, the candidate for the Defense Ministry, received the highest number of votes, with 281 out of 288 members of parliament. Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, the candidate for the Health Ministry, received the lowest, with 163 votes.
Some other ministers approved were Ahmad Donyamali for the Ministry of Sports, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh for the Ministry of Agriculture and Abbas Aliabadi for the Ministry of Energy.