Iranian parliament approves president’s cabinet picks

TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday approved all of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s cabinet picks, the official news agency IRNA reported.
The voting was conducted in an open parliamentary session in the Iranian capital Tehran, following a five-day review of the nominees’ qualifications, the report said.
According to IRNA, the new cabinet comprises 19 members. Aziz Nasirzadeh, the new defense minister, received the most support from legislators, securing 281 votes out of the 288 parliamentarians present in the 290-seat chamber.
Seyyed Abbas Araqchi was appointed as the minister of foreign affairs, and Mohsen Paknejad will serve as the oil minister.
Before the vote, the Iranian president highlighted the need for national consensus, unity, and solidarity, pledging to follow the guidelines and policies of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Pezeshkian said that all his proposed ministers had sworn to work towards implementing and achieving the objectives of the country’s 20-year vision document, general policies, and seventh five-year development plan.
Pezeshkian submitted the list of his proposed ministers to the parliament on August 11. ■