Iran’s president proposes an ex-nuclear negotiator as foreign minister. A woman is also on the list

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday proposed former nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi as the country’s new foreign minister and also sought to appoint a woman as roads and housing minister. If she is approved, she would be Iran’s first female minister in more than a decade.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf read the list of proposed ministers to lawmakers. The chamber, dominated by hardliners, will have two weeks to review the qualifications and give a vote of confidence to the proposed ministers.

Araghchi, 61, a career diplomat, was a member of the Iranian negotiating team that reached a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015 that limited Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement and imposed more sanctions on Iran. Pezeshkian said during his presidential campaign that try to revive the nuclear deal.

Pezeshkian appointed General Aziz Nasirzadeh, F-14 Tomcat pilot, as Minister of Defense. He was head of the Iranian Air Force in 2018-2021. This would be the first time a member of Iran’s air force heads the Defense Ministry.

Pezeshkian proposed Farzaneh Sadegh as Minister of Highways and Housing. Sadegh, 53, is currently director of the ministry. She would become the second prime minister in Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. However, it is unclear whether she will be approved. The hardline parliament seeks more cultural and social restrictions on women based on its interpretations of Islamic sharia. Many lawmakers expressed opposition when the president read her name during Sunday’s session.

The only previous female minister approved by parliament since the revolution was in 2009, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad secured a position for Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi as health minister.

However, Iranian presidents have appointed women to serve as vice presidents, a role that is not subject to parliamentary approval. Last week, Pezeshkian appointed Zahra Behrouz Azar as vice president in charge of women and family affairs.

The first female minister in Iran’s history was Farrokroo Parsa, who served as Minister of Education from 1968 to 1971. Revolutionary authorities executed her after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamists to power.

Pezeshkian proposed Eskandar Momeni, a relatively moderate police general, as interior minister. The ministry is responsible for enforcing the obligation to wear the Islamic veil for women. In 2022, the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after being arrested for improper wearing of the hijab sparked protests across the country.

Pezeshkian, then a lawmaker, wrote at the time that it was “unacceptable in the Islamic Republic to arrest a girl for her hijab and then hand over her body to her family.”

In his comments he has suggested that he wants less enforcement of the hijab law, as well as better relations with the West and a return to the nuclear deal.

However, the president is likely to face opposition in passing legislation supporting his stated program, as the chamber is dominated by hardliners who primarily supported other candidates during the June-July presidential election.

The president appointed Mohsen Paknejad as Minister of Petroleum. Paknejad was previously deputy oil minister.

Pezeshkian also proposed retaining current Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib and current Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi. Pezeshkian also appointed current Industry Minister Abbas Aliabadi as Energy Minister. On Saturday, the president also reappointed Mohammad Eslami as head of Iran’s civilian nuclear program and one of several vice presidents. All held their positions during the government of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahain in May. helicopter crash.