TEHRAN: Iran’s hard-line parliament on Wednesday approved all members of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, the first time in over two decades a leader has been able to get all of his officials through the body.
The approval marks an early win for Pezeshkian, a longtime lawmaker who found himself catapulted into the presidency after a helicopter crash in May killed his hard-line predecessor.
Getting his officials approved shows Pezeshkian picked a Cabinet of consensus with names palatable to all of the power centers within Iran’s theocracy, as opposed to going for controversial choices as well.
Underlining that point, Pezeshkian immediately posted an image online with him standing next to Iran’s judiciary chief, a Shiite cleric, and the country’s parliament speaker, a hard-liner he once faced in the election.
“Consensus for Iran,” he wrote in the caption.
Former Foreign Minister Mohamamad Javad Zarif, who campaigned for Pezeshkian in his election, later resigned as a vice president for the new leader over the Cabinet selections.
Among those in Pezeshkian’s new Cabinet is Abbas Araghchi, 61, a career diplomat who will be Iran’s new foreign minister.
Araghchi was a member of the Iranian negotiating team that reached a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015 that capped Tehran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal and imposed more sanctions on Iran. Pezeshkian said during his presidential campaign that he would try to revive the nuclear deal.
The candidate who received the most support from lawmakers was the country’s new defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, who received 281 votes out of 288 present lawmakers. The chamber has 290 seats.
Nasirzadeh was chief of the Iranian air force from 2018 to 2021.
Health Minister Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi received the lowest number of votes with 163.
The only female minister proposed, Housing and Road Minister Farzaneh Sadegh, a 47-year-old architect, received 231 votes. She is the first female minister in Iran in more than a decade.
The parliament also approved Pezeshkian’s proposed Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib, as well as Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, both of whom served under the late President Ebrahim Raisi. Pezeshkian also put Raisi’s minister of industries, Abbas Aliabadi, in the post of energy minister.
Dropping proposed ministers has been a tradition in Iran’s parliament, making Pezeshkian’s success that much more striking. Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami was the only president who received vote of confidence for all of his proposed ministers in both 1997 and 2001.
Iran’s hard-line parliament approves all members of president’s Cabinet, first time since 2001
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Iran’s hard-line parliament approves all members of president’s Cabinet, first time since 2001
Pakistan discusses sovereign financing options amid IMF caution on debt risks
- Finance Minister Aurangzeb discusses cooperation with Citibank and how to leverage its global capacities
- IMF acknowledges economic progress but warns that high public debt and external shocks threaten stability
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb met with officials from a global bank on Tuesday to discuss sovereign financing options and potential cooperation as the government continues to work with external partners on debt management and capital market issues, said an official statement.
The discussions with Citibank came amid Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen its economy under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program. While the IMF has acknowledged progress, it has also cautioned that the country’s recovery remains fragile and warned that high public debt, fiscal pressures and exposure to external shocks continue to pose risks to long-term stability.
“The meeting provided an opportunity to engage on sovereign financing solutions and review potential avenues for cooperation between the Government and Citibank,” the finance ministry said.
The term “sovereign financing solutions” is used to cover financing, debt management and market-related services offered to governments.
The statement said the finance minister’s team overseeing debt management, capital markets and other relevant policy areas was also present at the meeting.
“The Finance Ministry team briefed the [bank] delegation on the Government’s ongoing work on sovereign funding programs, including preparatory work on medium-term note structures, while noting that immediate focus remains on concluding priority transactions currently under process,” the ministry said.
The finance minister stressed the value of sustained engagement and senior-level involvement by international financial institutions, saying Pakistan has been an important market for global banks in the past.
His team also highlighted areas where Citibank’s global capabilities could be leveraged by the government.
Pakistan faced a prolonged economic crisis in recent years, marked by fiscal pressure, high debt levels and balance-of-payments difficulties, and subsequently entered an IMF-supported program to stabilize the economy. Growth has been modest, inflation has eased from earlier highs, and foreign exchange reserves have improved under the program’s terms, according to IMF and government data.
The government said it remains focused on structural reforms and on attracting investment as part of broader efforts to strengthen economic fundamentals and support growth.
