Iranian President Proposes Candidate For Minister: There Is One Woman, Former Nuclear Agreement Negotiator Becomes Foreign Minister

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has handed over a number of ministerial candidates who will fill his cabinet to parliament on Sunday.

In the list of proposed names, there is one female ministerial candidate. There is also a former nuclear agreement negotiator who is trusted as foreign minister.

"The parliament will start a debate over the minister proposed by President Pezeshkian next Saturday (17 August). Based on the schedule, the debate over the proposed cabinet will last for four days with two regular shifts every day," said state media IRNA, as quoted August 12.

In the list submitted, Farz Strange Sadegh is the only female candidate. President Pezeshkian chose Farz strangeness to lead the Ministry of Highways and Urban Development.

If approved by parliament, she will become the second female cabinet minister in the country's history. The country's first female minister was elected by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, quoted by Reuters.

The next name proposed by President Pezeshkian is veteran diplomat Abbas Araqchi as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Araqchi (61) was once Iran's ambassador to several countries. He also played an important role in negotiations on the 2015 Nuclear Treaty between Iran and six superpowers. He also led Iran's negotiators in multilateral efforts to revive the pact, after the United States under Donald Trump left the agreement in 2018.

It is known, Masoud Pezeshkian was elected President of Iran, after winning the second round of elections on July 5. He replaced Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash.

The president's power is limited in Iran by the rule of the Supreme Leader, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoints the head of the judiciary and has a final decision on key policies.

In the list of proposed ministerial candidates, the incumbent of the Minister of Intelligence chosen by the late President Raisi, Esmail Khatib will continue to maintain his position in the new cabinet.

* Minister of Home Affairs Eskandar Momenti

* Secretary of State Seyyed Abbas Araghchi

* Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh

* Intelligence Minister Seyyed Esmaeil Khatib

* Minister of Economy and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati

* Minister of Oil Mohsen Paknejad

* Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi

* Education Minister Alireza Kazemi

* Minister of Communication and Information Technology Sattar Hasemi

* Minister of Health and Medical Education Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi

* Minister of Cooperatives, Manpower and Social Welfare Ahmad Meydari

*Gholamreza Nouri Ghezelcheh Agricultural Jihad Minister

* Minister of Justice Amin-Hossein Rahimi

* Minister of Highways and Urban Development Farz Strange Sadegh

* Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mohammad Atabak

* Mentero Science, Research And Technology Hossein Simaei Sarraf

* Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Abbas Salehi

* Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Hand Crafts Reza Salehi-Amiri

* Sports And Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali