TEHRAN – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian submitted his Cabinet to Parliament on August 11, featuring a diverse selection that includes a woman and a diplomat with Western-friendly views as the new Foreign Minister. During a live broadcast of the parliamentary session, Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced the names of the 19-member Cabinet presented by President Pezeshkian.
For the position of Foreign Minister, Pezeshkian nominated Abbas Araghchi, a 61-year-old seasoned diplomat who has led nuclear negotiations since 2013. Araghchi is known for his openness to the West and played a crucial role in the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which was later dismantled when the United States withdrew in 2018.
Pezeshkian also nominated Farzaneh Sadegh, a 48-year-old candidate for the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, who would become only the second woman to hold a ministerial post in Iran since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.
The President, who is aligned with the reformist movement, selected General Eskandar Momeni, a 60-year-old police commander and former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as his pick for Interior Minister. General Aziz Nasirzadeh, a former commander of the Iranian Air Force and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces since 2021, has been nominated to lead the Defense Ministry.
For the role of Oil Minister, Pezeshkian chose Mohsen Paknezhad, a 58-year-old executive with extensive experience in Iran’s energy sector. Parliament will begin reviewing the candidates on August 12, with voting by lawmakers expected to start on August 17. In late July, President Pezeshkian stated that he would “consult and coordinate” with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate authority in all state matters, before finalizing his list of ministers.
In Iran, the vote of confidence is conducted for each minister individually, rather than for the government as a whole. On August 10, President Pezeshkian retained Mohammad Eslami as the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, a position Eslami has held since 2021. Eslami was placed on sanctions lists by the U.S. and the European Union in 2008 when he served as Deputy Defense Minister.
Pezeshkian, who assumed office in late July, campaigned on a platform of opening Iran to the world, promising to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement and work towards easing sanctions on the country. However, his powers are limited, and he is responsible for executing state policies set by Supreme Leader Khamenei, who has held his position since 1989.