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
Bahrain to roll out fiscal reforms to bolster public finances
RIYADH: Bahrain’s government has unveiled a comprehensive package of fiscal reforms aimed at curbing public expenditure, generating new revenue streams, and safeguarding essential subsidies for citizens.
According to a report by the Bahrain News Agency, the measures include increases in fuel prices, higher electricity and water tariffs for certain categories, and greater dividend contributions from state-owned enterprises.
The Cabinet emphasized that electricity and water prices will remain unchanged for the first and second tariff bands for citizens’ primary residences, including homes accommodating extended families.
These reforms are aligned with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, which seeks to reinforce fiscal discipline, diversify revenue sources beyond crude oil, and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability.
“The Cabinet confirmed that electricity and water tariffs for the first and second tariff bands for citizens’ primary residences will remain unchanged, taking into account extended families residing in a single household,” BNA reported.
The Cabinet also agreed to defer any changes to the subsidy mechanisms for electricity and water used in citizens’ primary residences until further studies are completed. At the same time, it approved amendments to electricity and water consumption tariffs for other categories, with implementation scheduled to begin in January 2026.
Under the proposed reforms, a 10 percent corporate income tax will be levied on companies with revenues exceeding 1 million Bahraini dinars ($2.6 million) or annual net profits above 200,000 dinars.
The new corporate tax framework is expected to come into force in 2027, subject to the completion of necessary legislative and regulatory approvals.
In addition, Bahrain plans to increase natural gas prices for businesses and reduce administrative government spending by 20 percent as part of broader cost-cutting efforts.
The government also aims to improve the utilization of undeveloped investment land that already has infrastructure in place by introducing a monthly fee of 100 fils per square meter, with implementation anticipated in January 2027.
The Cabinet further tasked the ministers of labor, legal affairs, and health with reviewing fees related to worker permits and health care services.
According to the report, revised fees will be phased in gradually over a four-year period starting in January 2026, with domestic workers exempt from the changes.
Authorities stressed that the reforms are designed to streamline government procedures that support investment, attract foreign capital, and strengthen the role of the private sector in driving economic growth.
