A Peek At Candidates For Cabinet Ministers Of Iran Approved By Parliament: Interpol's Wanted General, Researchers To Iraq War Veterans

JAKARTA - Iran's parliament approved a majority of the names of ministers proposed by President Ebrahim Raisi who will fill his cabinet last Wednesday. Except for the candidate for the minister of education, all candidates proposed by Raisi were approved.

Citing state news agency IRNA, the confirmation process involved President Raisi defending his government's program in presentation before parliament, including why he nominated each person in each position.

Then, five people for and against each candidate debated their case, followed by MPs who checked the candidate's qualifications. After that, a report was prepared by the relevant commissions for each ministry, again with two positions for and against the candidate proposed by President Ebrahim Raisi. Finally, candidates are given 30 minutes to defend their program and overall philosophy before the Assembly.

The only candidate not accepted was Hossein Baghgoli, whom Raisi nominated to head the education ministry. In addition to professionals in their fields, there are also ministerial candidates who are veterans of the Iraq war to those who have been sanctioned by the United States. Launching Sputnik Friday 27 August, the others that were approved included:

Minister of Sports and Youth - Hamidreza SajadiSajadi represented Iran at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, as well as at various other Asian athletic championships as a middle and long distance runner. He has also served as director of the Kish Island Free Zone Organization in Hormozgan Province, and has served on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Committee on Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS).

Interior Minister - Ahmad Vahidi A former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Vahidi also served as defense minister from 2009 to 2013 under former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Vahidi was blacklisted by the US government after Interpol accused him of participating in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 85 people.

Minister of Defense - Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani Brigadier General Ashtiani was appointed Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces in 2019 and was previously Deputy Commander of the Army. His appointment is unusual, as the Ministry of Defense is often occupied by IRGC generals.

Minister of Foreign Affairs - Hossein Amir AbdollahianAmir Abdollahian has held many posts in the Iranian government in the past, including deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs and Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada. He has participated in several past negotiations with the United States, Iraq and the United Nations, among other missions. He is currently a professor at the Iranian Foreign Ministry's School of International Relations and is fluent in English and Arabic, in addition to his native Persian.

Intelligence Minister - Seyed Esmaeil KhatibKhatib previously served as head of the judicial intelligence unit, according to Al-Arabiya, and as a cleric helping oversee the workings of the Imam Reza Mosque in Mashhad, the world's largest mosque by area.

Energy Minister - Ali Akbar Mehrabian Mehrabian previously served as Minister of Industry and Mines from 2007 to 2011, where he pushed for World Oil Bank proposals with Venezuela and Russia, helping build stronger ties between Iran and Cuba. He also proposed switching Iranian cars to compressed natural gas fuel to reduce oil rationing while under US sanctions.

Minister of Economy and Finance Ehsan Khandouzi A prolific scholar, Khandouzi has written several books on economics, the most famous of which is an introduction to the Qur'anic theory of economic justice, a topic he frequently writes on. He teaches economics at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran and was a member of the Benefit Council before becoming a member of parliament in 2020.

Minister of Communications and Information Eisa ZarepourZarepour is an assistant professor at the Iranian University of Science and Technology and visiting researcher at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts - Ezzatollah ZarghamiZarghami tried to run against Raisi in the 2020 election, but his nomination was rejected by the Guardian Council. He is a former deputy minister of culture and minister of Islam, and has also worked in the ministry of defence. Zarghami joined the IRGC during the war with Iraq and became a military radio broadcaster; then, he ran the state-owned Broadcasting of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2004 to 2014.

While the other names are the Minister of Cooperatives, Manpower, and Social Welfare Hojjat Abdolmaleki; Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Ali Zolfigol; Minister of Agriculture Javad Sadatinejad for the Ministry of Agriculture; Minister of Health and Medical Education Bahram Einollah; Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili; Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Seyed Reza Fatemi Amin; Oil Minister Javad Owji; Minister of Justice Amir Hossein Rahimi and Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi.