Iran lawmakers approve new president’s cabinet

TEHRAN: Iran´s conservative-dominated parliament on Wednesday approved reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian´s proposed cabinet, which includes one woman and a foreign minister open to dialogue with the West.

Lawmakers voted in favour of all 19 ministers picked by Pezeshkian -- who was inaugurated in July after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash -- during a session broadcast on state television.

In a speech in parliament ahead of the vote, Pezeshkian said he initially “had ideal (candidates) on my mind”.

“But when I saw that there was no mutual agreement on them, I backed down,” he said.

“Because agreement was more important to me than ideal (candidates),” he said, vowing “to move forward with unity”.

Wednesday´s vote was the first time in 23 years that Iran´s parliament granted confidence to all ministers proposed by a president since the term of reformist Mohammad Khatami, according to the reformist daily Etemad.

Following the vote, Pezeshkian posted a photo of himself on social media platform X alongside Iran´s conservative parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, with a caption reading “consensus for Iran”.

The new cabinet includes Abbas Araghchi, a 61-year-old career diplomat, as Iran´s new foreign minister, replacing Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who died along with Raisi in May.

Araghchi, known for openness towards the West, has recently vowed “all-round support for the axis of resistance and Palestine” during a speech in parliament, referencing pro-Tehran armed groups opposed to Israel, including Palestinian militants Hamas, Iraqi movements and Yemen´s Huthi rebels.

The veteran diplomat, who led the Iran nuclear talks in 2013, played a role in sealing a landmark 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and Western countries.

But the deal, designed to regulate Iran´s atomic activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, collapsed in 2018 after unilateral US withdrawal.

Wednesday´s vote also approved the only woman in the cabinet, Farzaneh Sadegh, the second woman to hold a ministerial post since the Islamic republic´s establishment in 1979.

Sadegh, 47, will head the ministry of roads and urban development.

Pezeshkian´s proposed cabinet drew criticism from some among Iran´s reformist camp, including over the inclusion of conservatives from Raisi´s government.

Others criticised the line-up for the absence of representatives of ethnic and religious minorities and for not including more women.